NASCAR insider discloses IndyCar’s ‘main reason’ not to fulfill 23XI and FRM’s demand

IndyCar has turned down Front Row Motorsports and 23XI Racing’s request for financial information amid their ongoing lawsuit against NASCAR and Chairman Jim France. Just recently, FOX journalist Bob Pockrass took to X (formerly known as Twitter) and shared more details on the same.

Besides IndyCar, the teams approached the NFL, NBA, NHL, and F1 to seek compliance with a subpoena. However, according to what Pockrass posted, IndyCar denied handing over financial data to 23XI and FRM because the league thinks they are an entirely different sport.

This means that their financial information would not be relevant to NASCAR. Detailing the matter, Pockrass posted an official statement from the latest filing, which clearly states the “main reason” why IndyCar chose not to comply, as per reports.

"There is no comparison that would make the granular inner workings of INDYCAR's business operations, financials, revenues, and charters, among other things, relevant to NASCAR's alleged anticompetitive business practices with respect to NASCAR's charter agreements for racing teams competing in NASCAR series.”

IndyCar also stated that the requests were “overly broad, unduly burdensome, not proportional” to the scope of the lawsuit and are “not reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence in litigation between Plaintiffs and NASCAR.”

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Trademark dispute under spotlight after NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jr. breaks silence on NFL quarterback’s legal claims

NASCAR team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. looks on during practice for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Feb 12, 2025 - Source: Imagn

A week ago, Dale Earnhardt Jr. made an application to protect his No. 8 trademark. His iconic Budweiser Chevy carried that number back when he was driving for Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI) in the NASCAR Cup Series. Per reports, Dale Jr. took that car to the victory lane on 17 occasions.

However, NFL sensation and Baltimore Ravens Quarterback Lamar Jackson filed a Notice of Opposition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The counterclaim states that Jackson has registrations already set for ‘ERA 8’ and ‘ERA 8 BY LAMAR JACKSON’, which covers a variety of his merchandise.

Reflecting on the matter in an episode of his Dale Jr. Download podcast, Dale Jr. said (quoted by NBC),

“I learned on social media about the same time as everybody else did that Lamar was contesting our trademark application. He wasn’t suing me. He’s just contesting it. When I learned about it, I thought for sure it was over the Bud 8. But when I dug into it, I learned that it was that JR Motorsports font.”

“And we weren’t ever gonna use that again. Ever. So yeah, it’s not an issue. It’s a non-issue. I didn’t wanna see this get nasty for no reason.”

Some might wonder why Dale Jr. even applied to secure the trademark for a number that he was not going to use. That being said, Dale Jr. will still reserve the rights to use the number on his products, which include hats, t-shirts, and die-cast models.