Michael Jordan owned 23XI Racing vs. NASCAR legal battle, new details emerge

Denny Hamlin's co-owned 23XI Racing team and NBA legend Michael Jordan have received new court dates for their preliminary injunction against NASCAR. Amid the ongoing anti-trust lawsuit with NASCAR 23XI Racing, Bob Jenkin's Front Row Motorsports (FRM) joined forces, filing a motion for a preliminary injunction to retain charters in the 2025 season.

Both NASCAR Cup Series teams didn't fulfill the criteria for a new set of rules for the charter agreement imposed by NASCAR. They filed the preliminary injunction on October 9, 2024. A renowned journalist, Claire B. Lang, shared:

"Today, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports jointly filed a preliminary injunction in their antitrust case against the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) and its CEO Jim France, seeking to immediately enable the teams to continue racing in 2025 as chartered teams, while the case moves through the legal process. As part of the preliminary injunction, 23XI and Front Row Motorsports are also seeking expedited discovery as the next procedural step in the racing teams’ legal fight against NASCAR."

Jenna Fryer, a well-known journalist, revealed in an X post that the Charlotte Federal Court decided to proceed with the preliminary injunction on October 16 at 9 a.m. The court also ordered NASCAR to respond to the motion for preliminary injunction on October 14 and to the motion for expedited discovery on Friday, October 14.

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Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing hired Co-Executive Chairman of Winston & Strawn for the antitrust case against NASCAR

Denny Hamlin's co-owned 23XI Racing hired renowned antitrust, sports law, and trial lawyer Jeffrey Kessler for the high-profile case. Kessler is the Co-Executive Chairman of Winston & Strawn, an international law firm in Chicago. Recently, he went to an interview with Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Jeffery Kessler explained the 23XI Racing Team's terms and believes NASCAR is a "monopoly." He said:

"What we are arguing here is that NASCAR is a monopoly," Kessler said. "No surprise to NASCAR fans; there is no alternative to NASCAR not just in this country but frankly, around the world. And it got its monopoly illegally. The reason it got it illegally is because it tied up all the racetracks in the country. Because it doesn't let any of the teams compete for any other racing circuit."

A report shared by The Athletic highlights that the leaders of the sport "use anti-competitive practices to prevent fair competition in sport." To support his argument, Kessler added:

"What NASCAR then did because it runs as the private enterprise of the France family to benefit them is use that monopoly to force economic terms on the teams that they barely can afford to be in NASCAR."

The charter system dates back to 2016. NASCAR announced that teams needed to buy charters to provide them with financial stability and guaranteed spots in races. These charters worked as a franchise, and the most amount NASCAR earned from charters was $40 million.