NASCAR flags ‘critical legal errors’ in district court’s judgment for 23XI and FRM-Reports

A reported key development in Front Row Motorsports and 23XI Racing’s antitrust lawsuit, NASCAR deemed the district court’s decision faulty. Recently, Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports dropped an update on the same on X.

According to reports the district court granted the teams a preliminary injunction during their last hearing that allowed them to compete as chartered teams throughout the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. NASCAR decided to appeal the ruling, demanding a partial stay of the injunction.

A hearing is scheduled for May 9 at the U.S. Court of Appeals in Richmond, which will lead to the trial set for December 2025. Meanwhile, NASCAR identified a “critical legal error” in the court’s definition of the Cup Series as a market. As reported by Pockrass,

“NASCAR filed reply to 23XI/FRM response to NASCAR appeal of injunction order. NASCAR on if Cup racing is a market: "NASCAR identified ... critical legal errors in the decision ... like the district court’s faulty market definition, which was rooted in the wrong economic theory."

Earlier in March, NASCAR counter-sued FRM and 23XI Racing, saying that the teams, with the support of 23XI co-owner and agent Curtis Polk, are trying to blow up the charter system, using the antitrust lawsuit as a means to serve their purpose. Word by word, the claim states,

“It is truly ironic that in trying to blow up the Charter system, 23XI and FRM have sought to weaponize the antitrust laws to achieve their goals. The undisputed reality is that it is 23XI and FRM, led by 23XI's owner and sports agent Curtis Polk, who willfully violated the antitrust laws by orchestrating anticompetitive collective conduct in connection with the terms of the 2025 Charter Agreements."

However, NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin, who also owns 23XI Racing alongside Polk and former NBA legend Michael Jordan, defended Polk during an episode of his Actions Detrimental podcast. Now, let’s dive deeper into what the JGR icon said.

“The guy knows the business”- Denny Hamlin sides with Curtis Polk amid ongoing legal battle with NASCAR

In a recent statement, NASCAR attorney Christopher Yates stated that 23XI co-owner Curtis Polk has not been able to grasp the sport’s current business model. As quoted by AP News, Yates said,

“I don’t think Mr. Polk really understands the sport. I think he came into it and his view is it should be much more like the NBA or other league sports. But it’s not. No motorsport is like that. He’s done a lot of things that might work in the NBA or might be OK in the NBA but just are not appropriate in NASCAR.”

Polk has been a partner to Michael Jordan for decades, besides being one of the main driving forces at 23XI Racing since its inception in 2020. Therefore, Denny Hamlin wasn’t going to let Yates get away with his comments.

In an episode of his podcast, the Tampa, Florida native reflected on everything that Yates said about Polk.

"I found many of those things quite laughable. My favorite was saying that Curtis doesn’t know NASCAR business,” Hamlin said (42:53). “That’s like saying a chef doesn’t know how to cook. That’s what he does; he’s built Michael Jordan‘s empire for the last 30 years. The guy knows the business. He’s been doing it for five years.”

Hamlin is now preparing for a back-to-back sweep. He won last Sunday (March 30) at Martinsville, thus corkscrewing his position in the playoffs alongside JGR teammate Christopher Bell. His next race is scheduled for April 6 at Darlington Raceway. Fans can watch Hamlin in action on Fox Sports from 3 pm ET onwards or listen to radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.