tried to tip the scales<\/a> on one of the case\u2019s most important questions: what, exactly, is the market?<\/p>\nIn a motion submitted to U.S. District Court, the two teams asked Judge Kenneth Bell to rule that the NASCAR Cup Series is its own specialized market\u2014a closed shop where teams have no other comparable place to race. Their argument is simple: if the Cup Series is the only relevant market, then NASCAR wields monopoly power over it, bolstering their antitrust case.<\/p>\n
NASCAR, for its part, has until October 15 to respond. The sanctioning body is expected to argue what it has all along: that the market is much broader, encompassing everything from IndyCar to Formula 1. In other words, if 23XI or Front Row don\u2019t like the deal, they can take their cars and compete somewhere else.<\/p>\n
The teams have even requested oral arguments on the matter before the December 1 trial date, underscoring how central the market definition will be to their case.<\/p>\n
A Garage United\u2014Mostly<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, NASCAR is trying to show the judge that the rest of the sport is very much on its side. Friday\u2019s filing included declarations from an all-star lineup of owners who built NASCAR\u2019s modern empire. Hendrick Motorsports, Team Penske, Joe Gibbs Racing, Richard Childress Racing, and RFK Racing were all represented, along with smaller teams like Wood Brothers Racing and Rick Ware Racing. Even track operators including Speedway Motorsports, Pocono Raceway, and World Wide Technology Raceway weighed in.<\/p>\n
MARTINSVILLE, VIRGINIA – NOVEMBER 02: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx One Rate Toyota, and JGR team owner and NASCAR Hall of Famer, Joe Gibbs talk in the garage area after an on-track incident during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on November 02, 2024 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Getty Images<\/p>\n
Rick Hendrick, who has been in this game longer than most of his drivers have been alive, didn\u2019t mince words: \u201cThe Charter agreement is critical to the stability of the NASCAR ecosystem\u2026 Undoing what we have collectively negotiated will not only result in immeasurable damage to our sport and our respective businesses, it will, most importantly, hurt the people and families that depend on us for their livelihoods.\u201d<\/p>\n
Roger Penske, who has won just about everything with wheels on it, was equally blunt. \u201cI believe that the Charter system has been beneficial because it delivered on the race teams\u2019 goal of creating long-term equity value.\u201d Penske even pointed out that his experience with NASCAR\u2019s system inspired him to set up a similar model in IndyCar.<\/p>\n
Joe Gibbs, a man who has three Super Bowl rings and five Cup Series championships, stressed urgency: \u201cThe most important thing to me is that this lawsuit is resolved amicably, quickly, and in a manner that preserves the Charter system and the long-term viability of our incredible sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Stakes<\/p>\n
The charter system, first introduced in 2016, was designed to give teams something they\u2019d never had before: guaranteed entry, predictable revenue, and actual equity they could sell if they decided to walk away. NASCAR says the system has created more than $1.5 billion in equity value for teams. The 2025 charter deal\u2014already signed by 13 of 15 full-time organizations\u2014delivers 49% of media revenue to teams, a 62% increase over the prior deal.<\/p>\n
HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA – OCTOBER 27: Michael Jordan, NBA Hall of Famer and co-owner of 23XI Racing looks on from the grid during the NASCAR Cup Series Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 27, 2024 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Getty Images<\/p>\n
But as Judge Bell reminded everyone in an August hearing<\/a>, if the plaintiffs prevail, the fallout could be seismic: \u201cThere will be non-exclusivity provisions erased, noncompete provisions erased, maybe track sales. The whole charter system itself may be looked at\u2026 Nobody knows what 2026 is going to look like.\u201d<\/p>\nWhat Comes Next<\/p>\n
The case heads to trial in December, but with fresh motions flying and both sides digging in, few believe this will wrap up cleanly. Legal observers already warn the dispute could drag well into 2026 before any final clarity arrives.<\/p>\n
For now, NASCAR has promised not to reallocate the contested charters while the litigation plays out, leaving 23XI and Front Row to run as \u201copen\u201d teams without guaranteed spots. That leaves the sport with a surreal split-screen: most of the garage throwing their weight behind a system they say has finally made team ownership sustainable, while two well-funded operations insist the structure is rigged and needs to be torn down.<\/p>\n
For fans, the racing goes on\u2014this weekend at Charlotte\u2019s ROVAL, next month at Phoenix for the championship\u2014but in the background, the very business model of stock car racing is on trial.<\/p>\n
And if you think the fighting is fierce on the track, you should see the lawyers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EASTABOGA, AL – APRIL 26: NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps on pit road before the NASCAR Xfinity Series Ag-Pro…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":189205,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,8127,634,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-189204","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nascar","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-lawsuit","11":"tag-nascar","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=189204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189204\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/189205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=189204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=189204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=189204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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