Having already inked the 2025 open team agreement paperwork, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are set to continue their legal skirmish. Operating as three-car teams, they face the challenge of not being guaranteed a spot in every race and earning significantly less revenue.
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Despite these hurdles, Kevin Harvick recently commended the teams’ daring strategy, suggesting that it could potentially alter the course of NASCAR if they win.
Earlier this month, a U.S. District judge rejected a request from 23XI Racing and FRM for a court order that would have allowed them to compete as chartered teams without a formal charter.
Consequently, both teams will participate as open teams in 2025. The status leaves them vulnerable to potential losses in sponsorship and even drivers, as their future is not secured.
Amid these challenges, during a segment on Harvick‘s Happy Hour, the 2014 Cup Series Champion weighed in on the matter lauding the teams for risking everything they own to bring something better in the sport:
“It looks to me like if they’re going to keep battling down this road they’re going to wind up racing as open teams which is going to create a story for a scenario where one of their cars of you know could possibly miss the Daytona 500…”
“Taking this stance with Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan and his team and the Front row team does that move the needle to make anything better for anything else?”
“So it’s such a bold move that we have never seen it to this magnitude in the sport. I think that they’re obviously those two teams that feel like they’re fighting for something that could change the path of what they believe the sport should look like as a team owner… To me it was it was definitely the biggest thing that that happened,” Harvick added.
23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports file an appeal to speed up the filing process
In their quest for swifter legal proceedings, the teams requested the U.S. Court of Appeals to fast-track the timeline for ruling on the recent denial of a preliminary injunction. They proposed that all briefs be submitted within the next few weeks, aiming for a hearing during the court’s December 10-13 session for oral arguments.
Despite these efforts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit declined the request for an accelerated review on Monday. The teams’ rationale for hastening the process stemmed from the urgent need to ascertain the number of charter teams by January 28, just four days before the Clash. The determination is critical as it affects the season’s payouts, and the intervening holiday period will complicate the scheduling.
As the off-season unfolds, the outcome of the lawsuit remains up in the air, leaving the future of both teams hanging in the balance.
23XI/FRM filed reply on why appeal to injunction ruling needs to be expedited:
-Argues teams must know before Jan 28, just four days before the Clash, on how many charter teams there will be as the payouts for the season would be impacted.
-Argues holidays can't be avoided (1/3) https://t.co/VdQgoFcAQe— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) November 18, 2024
