{"id":263097,"date":"2025-11-05T10:15:29","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T10:15:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/263097\/"},"modified":"2025-11-05T10:15:29","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T10:15:29","slug":"michael-jordans-race-team-scores-a-major-win-against-nascar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/263097\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Jordan\u2019s race team scores a major win against NASCAR"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Team owner Michael Jordan looks on during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Darlington Raceway, Aug. 31, 2025, in Darlington, S.C.Matt Kelley\/The Associated Press<\/p>\n

A federal judge on Tuesday issued a key victory for two race teams, one owned by Michael Jordan, that further pressures NASCAR to settle the antitrust lawsuit filed against it by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports.<\/p>\n

NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps said last week the series is \u201ctrying our hardest\u201d to settle the federal antitrust lawsuit with the two teams suing in the most expansive comments yet from the defendants.<\/p>\n

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell ruled Tuesday in favour of 23XI, owned by Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and Bob Jenkins-owned Front Row, on an argument over the market definition of \u201cpremier stock-car racing.\u201d Bell found that NASCAR controls the market and NASCAR\u2019s argument that teams can race in other series is moot.<\/p>\n

The teams said in alleging the relevant market for premier stock car racing teams that \u201cNASCAR\u2019s Cup Series is currently the only buyer.\u201d The argument was backed by the the expert opinion of Dr. Daniel Rascher, who concluded that \u201cpremier stock car racing\u201d is a distinct form of automobile racing, and other types of motorsports like Formula 1 and IndyCar, and all lower levels of stock car racing, are not an equal substitute to NASCAR.<\/p>\n

NASCAR in a counterclaim said the teams unlawfully conspired in banding together for negotiations on new charter agreements, but Bell found \u201cNASCAR deliberate(ly), clear(ly) and unambiguous(ly)\u201d alleged that the relevant market is \u201cthe market for entry of cars into NASCAR Cup Series races in the United States and any other location where a Cup Series race is held.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe same transaction \u2013 the sale and purchase of premier stock car racing services \u2013 cannot be a different relevant market depending only on which side is complaining,\u201d Bell wrote. \u201cMost simply put, NASCAR made a strategic decision in asserting its Counterclaim and must now live with the consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lawsuit was filed a year ago by 23XI Racing and Front Row Racing when they were the only two organizations out of 15 to not sign extensions on new charter agreements.<\/p>\n

The new charter agreements were presented to the teams at the start of the 2024 playoffs with a deadline for them to sign. It followed more than two years of tense negotiations over the charters, which are at the heart of NASCAR\u2019s business model as they guarantee revenue and access to weekly races.<\/p>\n

23XI and Front Row likely will go out of business without them and are racing this season unchartered, which comes with significantly reduced prize money.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Bob Jenkins, owner of Front Row Motorsports and Co-Owner Michael Jordan, of 23XI Racing, pose before a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Talladega Superspeedway, Oct. 6, 2024, in Talladega, Ala.Butch Dill\/The Associated Press<\/p>\n

Other teams have called for a settlement to move forward, but mediation sessions and private negotiations have not worked. The trial is scheduled for Dec. 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very pleased with the Court\u2019s decision today, ruling in our favor. Not only does it deny NASCAR\u2019s motion for summary judgment, but it also grants our partial summary judgment motion, finding that NASCAR has monopoly power in a properly defined market,\u201d said Jeffrey Kessler, the attorney representing 23XI and Front Row.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis 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\u2019re 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

NASCAR in its own statement touted the commitment it has shown into building NASCAR into the top motorsports series in the United States since its 1948 formation. Phelps did the same last week while reading from a statement that ran more than six minutes; he defended the Florida-based France family who founded and controls NASCAR and most of the tracks the series uses for events.<\/p>\n

\u201cNASCAR looks forward to proving that it became the leading motorsport in the United States through hard work, risk-taking, and many significant investments over the past 77 years,\u201d NASCAR said in a statement. \u201cThe antitrust laws encourage this \u2014 and NASCAR has done nothing anticompetitive in building the sport from the ground up since 1948.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we respect the Court\u2019s decision, we believe it is legally flawed and we will address it at trial and in the Fourth Circuit if necessary. NASCAR believes in the charter system and will continue to defend it from 23XI and Front Row\u2019s efforts to claim that the charter system itself is anticompetitive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most of the organizations that did sign the new charter agreements last year submitted declarations to the court in support of the charter system and calling for a settlement to the case. All the teams want the charters to become permanent, which NASCAR refused to budge on during negotiations for the current agreement.<\/p>\n

Should a settlement not be reached before the trial and NASCAR loses, the entire charter system is at risk of being disbanded or overhauled. Teams are frustrated by that threat, and it is understood that NASCAR has since agreed to make the charters permanent and the snag in settlement talks is the amount of money 23XI and Front Row is demanding in damages and legal fees.<\/p>\n

Teams are concerned that NASCAR\u2019s entire framework could be torn apart by a loss and are aggravated that it would be over the monetary demands being made by 23XI and Front Row.<\/p>\n

Bell last week issued another win for 23XI and Front Row when he dismissed NASCAR\u2019s countersuit against Curtis Polk, the longtime business manager for Jordan and one of 23XI\u2019s owners.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Team owner Michael Jordan looks on during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":263098,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,634,885,909,910,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,82,865,61,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-263097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-nascar","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263097","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=263097"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263097\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}