The legal battle between NASCAR and 23XI Racing continues a step away from the beginning of the 2025 Cup Series season. On Wednesday, the racing promotion said in a brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals that the accusation of it being a monopoly is false since it faces competition from series like Formula 1 and IndyCar for fans, sponsors, and talent.
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It further listed the motorsports platforms in the United States, its primary market, and argued that it wasn’t the single dominant force. Among the examples used were the SRX series and the IMSA Sportscar Championship. It also cited that it regularly competed with the MLB, the NBA, and the NCAA for sponsors and broadcast options.
Fans on social media were not pleased with this logic. As veteran reporter Adam Stern shared pages of the brief on his X handle, they shot back at NASCAR for playing the victim card. One fan wrote, “So why do you shut IndyCar out of your oval tracks, look how these clowns try to play the victim card lmao.”
Another fan had trouble with the timing of the news. They said suspiciously, “They’re announcing this an hour before the first qualifying session of the year. Literally intentionally taking attention away from their own on track product. Maddening doesn’t begin to describe this.” This update does take attention away from the Daytona 500.
One comment held a serious question that went, “If NASCAR faces competition for “talent” from Indy Car and F1, why is it now giving free, uncontested starting spots to drivers from those series?” The newly introduced Open Exemption Policy allows exceptional drivers from foreign series to drive in Cup Series races without the need to qualify.
This is like the NFL complaining that the Arena Football league is taking consumers. Same sport by definition but ompletely different disciplines. pic.twitter.com/PmxSnkJvLo
— brian twining (@Brian_Twining) February 13, 2025
Helio Castroneves, an IndyCar Series icon, will benefit from the same this weekend. This approach runs rather contrary to what NASCAR has stated in its brief, as the fan pointed out. A fan used a striking analogy to describe the absurdity of the promotion’s argument. They wrote, “I suppose Rockefeller could have argued that there are other kinds of oil, like olive oil, so Standard Oil wasn’t really a monopoly.”
One can notice when reading the brief that Stern posted that NASCAR has pointed out how Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan, co-owners of 23XI Racing, are involved with its rivals. It stated, “Denny Hamlin, co-owner of plantiff 23XI, himself raced to SRX victory in 2023.”
It then added, “For instance, Michael Jordan, co-owner of plaintiff 23XI, has held ownership stakes in MLB, NBA, and NASCAR teams, a motorcycle racing team, restaurants, and car dealerships.” The drama is bound to be a long drawn one. It is apparent from its language that NASCAR is leaving no stone unturned in this fight.
