NASCAR team owners Rick Hendrick and Roger Penske have been dragged into the organization’s ongoing legal dispute with Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports.

Ahead of the antitrust lawsuit trial set to begin on December 1, the legal drama of which has played out against the backdrop of the 2025 season, Hendrick and Penske have been ordered by the Western District of North Carolina to be deposed by 23XI and FRM’s lawyers.

The deposition is a formal interview under oath, usually conducted as part of the discovery phase, where both sides get access to documentation and conversations before trial. Hendrick and Penske have been requested to be deposed after NASCAR indicated in its filing last week that it intends to put both on the stand during the trial next month.

As a result, 23XI and FRM have requested to interview both ahead of the trial. Posting on X, FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass wrote: “23XI and Front Row are asking the court for permission to depose Rick Hendrick and Roger Penske.”

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“FRM/23XI allege Hendrick and Penske were designated as possible witnesses at trial and weren’t designated as possible witnesses prior to the end of discovery as required.”

Recently, NASCAR were dealt a blow in their legal dispute with the two teams, after a federal court ruled the sanctioning body holds a monopoly of power over the “premier stock-car racing” market.

Judge Kenneth Bell rejected NASCAR’s motion for summary judgment, with Jeffery Kessler, representing 23XI and FRM, issuing a statement on behalf of his clients following the ruling. “We are very pleased with the Court’s decision today, ruling in our favor,” Kessler said.

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“Not only does it deny NASCAR’s motion for summary judgment, but it also grants our partial summary judgment motion, finding that NASCAR has monopoly power in a properly defined market.

He continued: “This means that the trial can now be focused on whether NASCAR has maintained that power through anticompetitive acts and used that power to harm teams.

“We’re prepared to present our case to the jury and are focused on obtaining a verdict that benefits all of the teams, partners, drivers, and the fans.”