For a couple dozen residents of North Carolina’s Mecklenburg County, Monday, Dec. 1, started as a normal day.
I use the term normal loosely.
At some point in the last few weeks, these people received a notice in the mail informing them they’d been chosen to take part in a time-honored American tradition: jury duty.
On Dec. 1, they would have to get up early in the morning and trudge down to the U.S. District Court in Charlotte, N.C., and face their fate.
What kind of case would they get? What matter that falls under the scrutiny of the federal courts would they be asked pass a verdict on?
Murder? Larceny? Extortion?
Surely it would be something simple that would allow them to return to their daily lives relatively quickly, with no fuss.
NASCAR Vs. 23XI/FRM Lawsuit Day 1 Recap
At what point do you think this group of people realized they were not in the running for a normal court case? Odds are good it was when they got over the shock of sharing the same room with His Airness, Michael Jordan.
Over the course of time Monday, those two dozen-or-so people were whittled down to nine to take part in the highly anticipated antitrust lawsuit trial pitting NASCAR against 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports.
(As an aside, pour one out for FRM. Despite competing in NASCAR since 2004 and having a Daytona 500 win, it’s been largely left out of the conversation surrounding the lawsuit, often referred to as some form of “another team.”)
But there’s a reason why Jordan was the one chosen to represent 23XI in the courtroom.
It’s his name in all the headlines. And it gets moments like this, as the jury pool was whittled down.
One of the potential jurors who was dismissed after saying he couldn’t remain impartial in regard to Michael Jordan, gave Jordan a raised fist on the way out of the court as a signal to fight the fight.
— Toby Christie (@Toby_Christie) December 1, 2025
The jury selection will probably wind up being the most entertaining part of this whole affair.
At some point someone with a love — or past love — of NASCAR was going to have to be weeded out.
However, it wasn’t as if everyone who walked into the courtroom Monday had a clue about what was going with the sport.
Reacting to Day 1 of the NASCAR vs. 23XI/FRM Trial
As it’s been noted over the years, the Charlotte area has become largely a banking center made up of transplants to the area. There’s a reason Charlotte is never listed among the top cities in viewership for NASCAR’s TV ratings. If you’re worried about a tainted jury pool of NASCAR devotees, hold the trial in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Anyway, there was bound to be at least a couple of NASCAR fans who showed up Monday, only to be dismissed.
We weren’t disappointed.
Only three of the 23 prospective jurors who were questioned said they had heard of this case. Only three of 19 said they were race fans (one passionate Hendrick Motorsports fan was dismissed). https://t.co/ry1ZbL6OmL
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) December 1, 2025
I really want to know what the day was like for that Hendrick Motorsports fan. They had to know there was a chance — with their jury duty notice coming up on Dec. 1 — they might be considered for the NASCAR trial.
Then there was this guy.
The jury has been selected. 9 people were chosen out of over 30 candidates.
One person said he used to watch but now NASCAR is killing NASCAR. Judge Bell couldn’t cut him off fast enough and he was asked to leave. He pointed at MJ on the way out
— Michael Massie (@m_massie22) December 1, 2025
How badly do you think Jim France and Lesa France Kennedy — both present in the courtroom — winced at the “NASCAR is killing NASCAR” line? Woof.
But the jury is now set. For at least nine more days, nine jurors who likely have no knowledge about antitrust law and have never heard the word charter as it pertains to sports will have to sit through hours of testimony about a sport they don’t watch and don’t think about.
4 Takeaways From the NASCAR 23XI/FRM Trial, Day 1
The judge in the case has already ruled that NASCAR is a monopoly. Now nine strangers will have to decide if NASCAR and the France family have used their monopoly in illegal ways.
If they do so, it will be to the judge to determine what happens to the most popular motorsports league in the country.
No pressure, jurors! Just go out there and have a good time.
It’s not like an entire sport’s future is at stake.
Daniel McFadin is a 10-year veteran of the NASCAR media corp. He wrote for NBC Sports from 2015 to October 2020. He currently works full time for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and is lead reporter and an editor for Frontstretch. He is also host of the NASCAR podcast “Dropping the Hammer with Daniel McFadin” presented by Democrat-Gazette.
You can email him at danielmcfadin@gmail.com.