“NASCAR is a monopoly”: Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing lawyer explains grounds behind charter lawsuit 

Michael Jordan's NASCAR Cup Series team, 23XI Racing, hired Jeffrey Kessler to lead the antitrust lawsuit they filed against NASCAR following the newest charter agreement. The agreement that NASCAR formulated in September resulted from two years of continuous negotiations between NASCAR and the teams to extend the charter system.

Kessler is a renowned antitrust, sports law, and trial lawyer who also serves as the Co-Executive Chairman of Winston & Strawn, an international law firm headquartered in Chicago. In a recent interview with Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Dirty Mo Media, the veteran lawyer explained the terms of the antitrust lawsuit. He feels that NASCAR is a "monopoly", and illegally so.

"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."

According to a report by The Athletic, the leaders of the sport "have used anti-competitive practices to prevent fair competition in the sport." Kessler further explained that, with these preventive measures, NASCAR "seizes the intellectual property" of the NextGen car that debuted in 2022.

"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," Kessler added.

NASCAR started the franchise-based charter system back in 2016. The system requires the teams to purchase these charters in exchange for certain monetary guarantees, besides a chunk of the revenue that NASCAR makes off of its media deal and a starting position in every point-paying race of the season. The most amount of money a team has ever paid for a NASCAR charter is $40 million.

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Front Row Motorsports joins hands with 23XI Racing in the legal battle

NASCAR had urged the teams to sign the 2025 charter deal before the playoffs could begin. 13 of 15 teams obliged, with 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports being the only exceptions. NASCAR has completed four races in the playoffs already, and the situation still remains the same.

Bob Jenkins, owner of Front Row Motorsports, said (via Newsweek):

"I have been part of this racing community for 20 years and couldn't be more proud of the Front Row Motorsports team and our success. But the time has come for change."

"We need a more competitive and fair system where teams, drivers, and sponsors can be rewarded for our collective investment by building long-term enterprise value, just like every other successful professional sports league," Jenkins stated.

What will happen if the teams lose the lawsuit against NASCAR? Fans can only speculate for now. Meanwhile, NASCAR prepares for the upcoming race at Talladega Superspeedway (October 6), which is also the second race of the Round of 12. Fans can watch the race live on NBC from 2 pm ET onwards or listen to radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.