Denny Hamlin is certainly going through some tough emotions at the moment. He failed to win the Cup Series championship after coming frustratingly close at the Phoenix Raceway on Sunday. This would unsettle the strongest of drivers and haze their focus, particularly when they are engaged in an active lawsuit against NASCAR. But Hamlin remains steadfast in his duties.
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23XI Racing, the team that Hamlin is a co-owner of, is fast approaching the December 1 trial date that was set to resolve its dispute with the sanctioning body. Several attempts were made to settle the matter ahead of trial, but none have turned out to be fruitful. Neither party is backing and appear willing to burn their houses down to be victorious in this battle.
Hamlin reiterated that stand clearly by telling the press in Phoenix that his championship loss hasn’t changed his opinions in the lawsuit. “It doesn’t change my feelings on obviously the lawsuit or anything like that. It’s, you know, they are two separate things. One is I’m a car owner. I have no emotions and feelings on that side,” he said.
“This is a deep cut.”
Denny Hamlin is still very emotional and needs time to get past what happened on Sunday pic.twitter.com/vqxl2y5rgg
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) November 4, 2025
“As a driver, I certainly do right in this moment, but I don’t let it bias or change my emotions. The result on Sunday doesn’t change any of my emotions or bias to the lawsuits.” This is a dangerous focus to have from a man who just perhaps suffered the biggest defeat of his career on the race track. It is with the same that he has now notched a major win ahead of the trial date.
23XI secures big win ahead of trial
On Tuesday, the team secured a big win on the matter of “relevant market” that has tightened the case’s scope to a major degree. NASCAR might be forced to settle after this crucial update. U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell ruled that the case will go ahead under the definition of “premier stock-car racing.”
Meaning, he has rejected NASCAR’s argument that the teams that are unhappy with the charter agreement terms could move their camps to a different series such as IndyCar or Formula 1. He declared that those series aren’t direct substitutes for the NASCAR Cup Series in this issue.
The counsel for 23XI Racing was justifiably pleased with this outcome. Now that the market has been defined, the trial can focus on whether NASCAR was involved in anticompetitive acts to gain power over teams.
