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NASCAR President Steve Phelps recently commented on the antitrust lawsuit filed by two teams and fans are not pleased.
23XI Racing, owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, and Bob Jenkins' Front Row Motorsports refused to sign the new 2025 charter agreement in September. They filed legal action against NASCAR in October and claimed that the deal unfairly limited the teams' financial and competitive opportunities.
Phelps responded to the claims, saying:
"Obviously, we want a court victory. I can’t get into the lawsuit, and I can’t speak to why Michael and Denny Hamlin decided to take this action. We negotiated in good faith for over two years. We had the majority of the teams—13 of 15, representing 32 charters—extend with us."
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After Phelps' comments, fans shared their frustrations online and voiced their criticism of NASCAR’s leadership.
"Steve Phelps is driving people away from NASCAR. He should step down," wrote one user.
"Steve Phelps and Ben Kennedy have ruined NASCAR," wrote another fan.
"The more Steve talks, the less I like hearing him talk," stated another.
Others pointed out NASCAR's focus on profit over racing.
"Well, that’s a lie, but okay lol," replied one fan.
"NASCAR saying basically 'sign it or else' is not operating in good faith," commented another.
"NASCAR are just greedy bastards, it's that simple. Dale Earnheart made it clear from day 1 that it was a money grab, and that racing was the second priority," replied yet another.
The lawsuit also claimed that NASCAR’s leaders, including CEO Jim France, put restrictions on teams that make it hard for them to stay financially stable and compete fairly.
NASCAR teams' motion for expedited discovery denied
23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports filed a motion along with the lawsuit to access documents and files related to the 2025 charter agreement.
However, this past Thursday, a district judge denied the teams’ request for “expedited discovery,” which would have given them quick access to years of NASCAR documents. The judge ruled that their request was too broad and would be a burden for NASCAR to meet in such a short time.
"While the proposed discovery requests may help Plaintiffs show a likelihood of success on the merits, they are not sufficiently narrowly tailored, and Plaintiffs argue the record is sufficient to support their motion for preliminary injunction as it stands... Plaintiffs concede that they do not actually require expedited discovery, at least for the purposes of their motion for a preliminary injunction," the ruling reads.
The preliminary hearing, which will decide if 23XI and Front Row can keep their charter rights while the case continues, is scheduled for November 4.
