Ever since the lawsuit between 23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsport (FRM), and NASCAR transpired, all eyes have been on how this legal tussle will pan out. After the most recent court hearing between the parties, a lot can be transcribed in terms of a holistic update. With the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series finale slated to play out at Phoenix this coming weekend, here’s all we know about the latest in this long saga.
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As things stand, the two teams have initiated legal proceedings against the sport’s sanctioning body, all the while 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick is a contender for the crown this year. The root cause of this lawsuit is the 2025 charter agreement, which the teams refused to sign due to its restrictive clauses.
The allegations on NASCAR are that they are trying to arm-twist the teams into terms that are unjustifiably favorable towards the organization, thus breaching competition laws.
That said, Michael Jordan (23XI Racing’s trailblazing owner) finds himself in a tricky situation with the current mandate. With no charter signed for next year, both, 23XI and FRM will have to run as open teams. The catch here is that this would allow Reddick and 23XI’s sponsors to leave the team next year. Something Jordan wants to desperately avoid.
Therefore, an injunction motion has been filed to allow the teams to sign the charter and compete in 2025. This means that if the injunction motion is upheld, the charter’s contentious clauses can be suspended until a final verdict has been reached by the court in the antitrust lawsuit.
What is NASCAR’s response to the injunction and the court’s deadline for a decision?
According to FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass, NASCAR has broken down the teams’ arguments in the court of law. He wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “NASCAR [attorney] said in court that they can’t say NASCAR is anti-competitive when they already have participated in it & want benefits of charter.”
Further, the governing body is challenging the motion for an injunction because if the teams win the eventual lawsuit, the monetary compensation can be calculated and dolled out (unliquidated damages).
NASCAR’s main arguments: 23XI/FRM already have signed contracts with similar language & if teams win, monetary damages can be calculated. NASCAR atty said in court that they can’t say NASCAR is anti-competitive when they already have participated in it & want benefits of charter.
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) November 4, 2024
The two teams on the other hand argue that an injunction is necessary because under law status quo must be given primacy. In case the judge rules against their motion, they are ready to appeal the decision and so is NASCAR.
As per Pockrass, a decision on the injunction can be expected by Friday this week. Whatever the decision, this could be a turning point in the landscape of American stock car racing. But in all fairness, an imminent appeal is only going to protract the matter further, adding to the uncertainty and scope to wriggle out of the stipulations.
