Last December, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports won a preliminary injunction from a U.S. District Court that allowed them to compete as “charter” teams in the 2025 Cup Series season despite their antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR. This ruling was overturned last Thursday, marking a key turn in the legal saga between the teams and the racing promotion.
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A three-judge federal court panel declared that the lower court abused its discretion and that NASCAR can strip both teams of every charter they own. Each charter is valued at tens of millions of dollars, and losing them could be a devastating financial blow. The drivers of 23XI Racing, Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick, have been cautiously media-prepared at this juncture.
Both drivers are currently at Michigan for Sunday’s race. With the press wanting to squeeze words out of their mouths regarding the status of the lawsuit and their mindset about it all, they wisely chose to deflect the questions.
Wallace said when asked if he was concerned about the future, “Everything’s great. You know the answer already. You can let Denny [Hamlin] comment on that stuff. You’re not going to get an answer that you want to hear from me.” He also pointed out that going out to the track and racing is all that he is focused on at the moment.
Reddick’s answers weren’t far off from this. The No. 45 driver said, “I’m just going to keep doing my part to try and show up as prepared as possible and continue winning races.” He refused to comment on whether he was worried about having to race as an “open” team.
23XI Racing’s leadership continues to keep Reddick updated on the team’s legal situation. But his focus is only on performing to the best of his abilities on the weekend.
What could losing the charters mean for 23XI Racing?
Millions of dollars in revenue are associated with charters. 23XI Racing would lose this income if NASCAR decides not to let the team participate as a “charter” team. Running a race team without enough dollars in the pocket is not an easy task, even if you’re Michael Jordan or Denny Hamlin. Moreover, the winnings from each race are considerably smaller for “open” teams.
There exists the possibility that an appeal can be made to overturn the ruling. Right now, though, a heavy shot has been dealt.
While the team has the financial power to sustain itself in the short term with the money of its owners, it will not be able to do so in the long term. And there is no telling how long this saga could go on.
