Nascar says it upped team payments by 28% in 2016 and further 62% in 2025Series points to ‘many eager potential entrants’ circling 23XI and FRM’s charters

Nascar has claimed that it pays a higher percentage of its operating income to its teams than Formula One in its latest legal response to 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports (FRM).

Since July, 23XI and FRM have been competing as open entries following a ruling by the US Court of Appeals, which overturned the injunction agreed upon in December 2024. This injunction had allowed the teams to continue as chartered entries while pursuing their lawsuit against Nascar.

The teams then filed for a new preliminary injunction that, if approved, would allow them to retain their charters until the court case is finally decided in December later this year. Nascar has called this latest injunction ‘unnecessary and inappropriate’, but has now submitted more documents ahead of the latest hearing.

Among these documents, Nascar asserts that it pays a higher percentage of its operating income to its teams than Formula One does. Under the current Concorde Agreement, which is up for renewal next season, Formula One teams receive a total of US$1.3 billion, roughly 62 per cent of the series’ operating income.

While Nascar does not reveal its exact percentage cut, it notes that it increased annual payments to teams by 28 per cent in 2016 and then raised them by a further 62 per cent for the most recent charters, which cover the period from 2025 to 2031.

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Nascar also points to ‘many eager potential entrants’ circling the charters, which are currently in limbo due to the legal standoff. Nascar is in possession of the six charters owned by 23XI and FRM but cannot act on any third-party interest until the dispute is resolved.

If Nascar wins the trial, a December court date would leave a prospective team with little to no chance of being ready for the series’ start in February. In fact, Nascar points to a cut-off date of 1st October for a new team to have a fair chance of entering the series.

Nascar redacted any references to who these interested parties might be, but commissioner Steve Phelps has claimed to have personally spoken to multiple parties. Phelps also criticised 23XI co-owner Michael Jordan for pursuing ‘a permanent charter that no other team has’ through this legal action.

A court will rule on this latest injunction request on 28th August before the main trial gets underway in December.