“A victory only for 2025”: NASCAR veteran weighs in on the ‘monumental win’ for 23XI and FRM amid the lawsuit battle 

Former NASCAR driver, Kenny Wallace has reacted to 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports' (FRM) major legal victory in their ongoing antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR.

This Wednesday, district court Judge Kenneth Bell ruled in favor of the teams and granted a preliminary injunction allowing them to compete as chartered entities next season. The Cup Series teams had filed the lawsuit in October and claimed NASCAR’s new charter agreements were unfair and restricted competition.

During the latest episode of "Coffee with Kenny," Wallace shared his thoughts on the injunction that permits 23XI and FRM to buy an additional charter from Stewart-Haas Racing.

"I do want to be very clear—this was a monumental, monumental win for 23XI and Front Row Motorsports only for 2025... Judge Kenneth Bell said 23XI and Front Row have won their preliminary injunction only for 2025. It sounds like the judge is going to give it a year to figure out this whole situation in 2026. So basically, this whole deal is going to go on for a year and a half, maybe two years, as expected," Wallace said (08:03).

He further mentioned that NASCAR has never lost a major legal case like this before.

"NASCAR has friends in Washington, D.C. This is my opinion: when NASCAR goes to do something big, they’re going to make sure they’re right. December 18th, 2024—NASCAR lost its first huge court case. A big one, not a little one, a big one... All they want is NASCAR to come back to the bargaining table and give the teams a bigger portion," he added (10:20).

The new ruling now allows the two teams to run three full-time cars in 2025.

---

"Will continue to fight so that racing can thrive" - NASCAR team's attorney after big win

NASCAR introduced a charter agreement this September that reportedly blocked teams from suing them, which 23XI and FRM refused to sign and risked losing money by racing as open teams in 2025. NASCAR also allegedly stopped Stewart-Haas Racing from selling charters to the teams.

23XI - co-owned by NBA legend Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin - and Bob Jenkins' FRM hired Jeffrey Kessler and sued NASCAR with a preliminary injunction to race as chartered teams during the lawsuit. Their first request was denied. However, when they refiled the injunction after their case judge was reassigned, the request was granted.

"We are confident in the strength of our case and will continue to fight so that racing can thrive and become a more competitive and fair sport in ways that benefit teams, drivers, sponsors and, most importantly, our fans," Kessler said.

The court also found NASCAR’s agreement unfairly powerful and supported the teams’ claims.