The second week of the trial pitting NASCAR against 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports kicked off Monday, Dec. 8, after a weekend break.
After a delayed start, Race Team Alliance executive director Jonathan Marshall completed his cross-examination late in the morning session.
Economist Edward “Ted” Snyder began his direct examination and remained on the witness stand for his cross-examination as the day wrapped up.
Here are some of the biggest takeaways from day six.
The defense argued Marshall, others found new charter agreement “a win”
The final round of Marshall’s time on the stand Monday was spent being cross-examined by NASCAR, adding more details to the Sept. 6, 2021, deadline and the respective fallout.
The defense presented evidence that Marshall called the new charter agreement “a win,” and he wasn’t alone. More evidence saw Marshall say Phelps was largely getting praise for how negotiations went and that he texted one anonymous Spire Motorsports executive that the teams got a good deal.
Marshall confirmed that a text on the day of the deadline indicated Hendrick Motorsports, Team Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing had shared their intention to sign the new deal with the expectation that other teams would follow suit.
NASCAR Vs. 23XI/FRM Lawsuit Day 6 Recap
Another piece of evidence from the defense shared text messages between Marshall and Hendrick Motorsports executive Jeff Gordon in which Gordon voiced frustration with 23XI executive Curtis Polk over his involvement in negotiations.
Marshall also provided more color on the prospective US Racing League and said two major things stood in the way of the idea getting off the ground. One was NASCAR’s exclusive deals with tracks around the country. The other? Most of the teams didn’t want to leave NASCAR, let alone compete against them.
An economist revealed the teams’ damages estimate
The magic number that’s been on everyone’s mind since the start of the trial was revealed when Snyder was brought to the stand by 23XI and FRM Monday.
Snyder not only made the case that NASCAR was a monopoly but also revealed what he believed the two teams were owed in damages by the sanctioning body.
The final damages after his evaluation came out to $364.7 million, split between the two teams in profits lost from 2021 to 2024, the teams’ evaluated value at the end of 2024 and revenue lost by running as open teams in 2025. 23XI would receive $215.8 million while FRM would get $148.9 million.
At lunch. Edward A. Snyder, an economic expert that specializes in Industrial Organization (IO), which also deals directly with anti-trusts is in the middle of testifying.
The plaintiffs’ questioning focused on 3 conducts of NASCAR: exclusivity on tracks, exclusivity on teams &…
— Stephen Stumpf (@stephen_stumpf) December 8, 2025
Snyder studied eight other pro sports leagues and ultimately settled on Formula 1 as a benchmark to compare NASCAR to, saying the two share similarities in track distribution and teams working as contractors, though F1 didn’t have exclusivity to most tracks or non-compete clauses for their teams.
NASCAR contended its two experts disagreed with Snyder’s calculation and his comparison to F1.
Teams would benefit from a competitor series?
There are many things that could happen depending on the result of this trial, including a potential split in stock car racing like the IRL/CART split of the 1990s. Part of Snyder’s job was to imagine what that would look like financially.
Snyder said he believes NASCAR payout to teams would increase and that the league could afford to because of the sanctioning bodies financial stability. He estimated the sanctioning body has $5 billion in equity and $2.2 billion in assets.
NASCAR argued that Snyder’s prediction doesn’t take into account the league and its teams potentially losing sponsors if a split occurs.
Snyder also said that without the track and charter agreements, a competitor to NASCAR would have been created sometime between 2016 and 2020.
There was a real-life comparison Snyder could point to, although he’d have to go beyond the world of motorsports. When golfers were split between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, the golfers benefited by both leagues finding ways to incentives either staying or jumping.
Reacting to Day 6 of the NASCAR vs. 23XI/FRM Trial
Coincidentally, NASCAR President Phelps was a rumored candidate for the PGA Tour Commissioner seat that was set to open in 2026. Brian Rolapp was ultimately named to that role.
Brian Rolapp and NASCAR’s Steve Phelps, a candidate for the PGA Tour role, are speaking with Rich Lerner at Versant’s investor day pic.twitter.com/DXpgUwprEa
— Josh Carpenter (@JoshACarpenter) December 4, 2025
Judge Bell is growing restless
It’s fitting that the trial dictating the future of a sport predicated on speed has been an absolute slog.
The expected deadline of finishing the trial in two weeks is in jeopardy after a late start and only two witnesses taking the stand on Monday, leading Judge Bell, who’s expressed frustration with both sides for the slow pace of the trial, to extend court hours by an hour starting Tuesday.
Monday’s hearing started later than the expected 9 a.m. start as Bell oversaw arguments over exhibits from the defense and plaintiff for an hour prior to the resumption of Marshall’s exposition. Bell expressed annoyance that objections were submitted at 2:55 and 6:50 a.m. that morning, informing lawyers he’d put a deadline on objections at 10 p.m. that night.
Snyder’s exposition will continue on Tuesday with the expectation that there are still four more witnesses to be called upon by the plaintiffs.
The pace needs to pick up, but by how much? Marshall’s final round of questions came fast and got fast responses. If it moves too fast for the jury to keep up, how could it influence their decision whenever it finally comes time for them to make one?
James Krause joined Frontstretch in March 2024 as a contributor. Krause was born and raised in Illinois and graduated from Northern Illinois University. He currently works in Fort Wayne, Indiana covering minor league, college and high school sports. Outside of racing, Krause loves to keep up with football, music, anime and video games.