SHR former President Joe Custer has accused NASCAR of double standards amid the governing body’s troubling decision

SHR's former president Joe Custer has criticized NASCAR for revoking the charter decision. Custer accused the governing body of not abiding by its decision to approve the charter sale to Front Row Motorsports and 23XI Racing, the parties that have sued NASCAR for anti-competitive practices.

On October 2 this past year, 23XI and FRM sued NASCAR for allegedly indulging in monopolistic practices and taking control over the sport. NASCAR clapped back on the lawsuit and froze the charter sale with Stewart-Haas Racing, the team that got shut down after the penultimate race at the Phoenix Raceway.

Though SHR closed, the co-owner Gene Haas retained one charter for his upcoming one-car Cup team, Haas Factory Team, with Cole Custer behind the wheel. HFT will field two entries in the Xfinity Series with Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer.

However, with the stalled charter deal, the flow of funds, approximately $30 million each, has been stopped. As HFT heavily relies on the proceeds from charter sales to fund its future venture, the frozen deal has become a major concern. According to a new filing made to show irreparable harm, NASCAR instructed 23XI and FRM to drop the lawsuit to get the charter transfer approved.

"In trying to show irreparable harm, Front Row's Jerry Freeze, in new filing today, alleges that Steve Phelps told him in September the transfer of the SHR charter to FRM is approved but that NASCAR is now telling the team they must drop the lawsuit for that to happen," the update reads via Bob Pockrass.

Pockrass then outlined what Joe Custer said about NASCAR's double standards.

"23XI/FRM filing today includes affidavit from SHR's Joe Custer, who says that NASCAR had told him on more than one occasion (no dates given) that the transfers to 23XI and FRM would be approved. He said they do not have the personnel/resources to run two more teams."

It's worth mentioning that before the recent frozen charter negotiation drama, the case was reassigned to Judge Kenneth D. Bell for undisclosed reasons.

A look at how 23XI and FRM's lawsuit against NASCAR has progressed

Following the lawsuit, which stemmed from NASCAR not listening to teams' suggestions, 23XI and FRM submitted a preliminary injunction to let them race as chartered teams in 2025. The team presented that they would suffer irreparable harm such as loss of goodwill, degrading interest of sponsors and drivers, no stake from the prize purse, and more.

The governing body responded by reasoning that irreparable harm could not be justified since they had allowed the teams to run in 2025 despite the ongoing lawsuit. Thus, the previous Judge, Frank D. Whitney rejected the preliminary injunction request.

23XI and FRM refiled the injunction citing new circumstances. However, NASCAR expressed that the opposing parties are unhappy with the contract terms as it didn't go their way. They even accused 23XI's Curtis Polk of influencing others against the governing body to impact the $7.7 billion worth of media rights deal.

The charter sale is frozen and per FRM's admission, it won't be processed until the case is dropped.