“Granted NASCAR's request”: Insider shares update on 23XI and FRM’s antitrust lawsuit against Jim France 

NASCAR insider Jeff Gluck tweeted that the judge of the antitrust lawsuit has granted the sport's request to postpone the preliminary injunction hearing. This comes after Michael Jordan's 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports filed a motion to race as chartered teams in 2025, as the case follows its due course.

After suing CEO Jim France on October 2, both teams requested the court grant them a preliminary injunction to ensure they participate in the 2025 Cup Series racing as a chartered team. Upon being asked to justify the criticality of owning a charter, the outfits unveiled that 15% of the season's purse is generated from the season-opener race at the Daytona International Speedway. The teams also highlighted that big-pocketed sponsors and drivers would be de-incentivized if they competed without a guarantee that charter beholds.

However, NASCAR believes the case doesn't meet the requisite of a preliminary injunction, as according to them, the issue is about a breach of contract, not amounting to antitrust. Thus, the management requested a court hearing to address the matter and scheduled it for October 16, when they were supposed to present why an injunction wasn't necessary.

However, amid the devastating environmental situation in the United States due to Hurricanes Helen and Milton, NASCAR requested a postponement of the hearing. This stemmed from Hurricane Milton's Daytona chaos, prompting the management to keep its offices shut.

The judge, Frank Whitney, approved their request and has rescheduled the injunction hearing for Monday, November 4. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Jeff Gluck shared the update and wrote.

"The judge in the NASCAR antitrust lawsuit case has granted NASCAR's request to postpone the preliminary injunction hearing (was supposed to be Wednesday, but NASCAR asked for more time due to hurricane). It will now be Nov. 4, per a court filing," Gluck Tweeted.

Each party will get 30 minutes to present their argument before Charlotte's federal court.

NASCAR presents three reasons to block 23XI and FRM's charter plea

The judge requested 23XI and FRM to prove the charter injunction is in the public interest and that the teams would suffer irrecoverable damages if they ran without a charter in 2025. Even though the teams mentioned the Daytona factor and the potential exit of sponsors and drivers, NASCAR didn't buy into the rivals' argument and filed to block the motion.

On the contrary, France's family-owned venture has presented three reasons for filing against the plaintiffs' injunction admission. Firstly, 23XI and FRM are seeking a mandatory hold and amending the status quo, applicable only in extraordinary circumstances, which in the present case, is absent.

The sport's counsel Chris Yates further outlined that since both teams will be participating in the 2025 Cup Series season albeit potentially without a charter, they cannot establish irrecoverable monetary damage. Their third point outlined that as the charter drama is over the proposed contractual terms, not antitrust, the plaintiffs cannot confirm a likelihood of success.

It will be interesting to see how the teams fight out for what they believe is antitrust, and how the dynamics of the sport will change after the federal court's ruling.