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CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – DECEMBER 1: Michael Jordan, co-owner of 23XI Racing, departs the Charles R Jonas Federal Building on December 1, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Jury selection and an opening statement began an antitrust lawsuit filed by Jordan’s 23XI Racing team against NASCAR. (Photo by Grant Baldwin\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The second week of the federal NASCAR antitrust trial between 23XI Racing<\/a>, Front Row Motorsports<\/a>, and NASCAR opened Monday, Dec. 8, with long testimony and a courtroom that grew more tense as the day went on. Judge Kenneth D. Bell, frustrated with delays, extended court hours by an extra hour for the rest of the week.<\/p>\n He said the trial needed to move faster after early-morning objections and filings pushed back the start time. Much of the day focused on economic evidence from the plaintiffs, who are working to show that NASCAR\u2019s system limits team earnings and long-term stability. With only two witnesses taking the stand, the slow movement of the proceedings matched the judge\u2019s concerns, as reported by James Krause of Frontstretch<\/a>.<\/p>\n Economic expert outlines damages in the NASCAR Antitrust Trial<\/p>\n Economist Edward A. Snyder, an antitrust expert, spent nearly the entire afternoon explaining the financial impact he believes NASCAR\u2019s structure has had on 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports.<\/p>\n Snyder told the court that his final calculation put total damages at \u201c$364.7 million\u201d, a number he broke down into lost profits, reduced team value, and revenue losses tied to running as open teams in 2025. This figure was first detailed in Krause\u2019s reporting for Frontstretch<\/a>.<\/p>\n Snyder also described why he believes NASCAR holds monopoly power. During his testimony, he said NASCAR controls \u201cthe tracks, the teams and the cars,\u201d which, in his view, leaves teams without any alternative place to compete.<\/p>\n Snyder compared NASCAR to Formula 1<\/a> in his analysis, though NASCAR\u2019s attorneys pushed back, pointing out that no rival series has ever formed in the sport\u2019s modern history. Snyder is set to continue on the stand on Tuesday as cross-examination continues.<\/p>\n Charter negotiations return to focus<\/p>\n Before Snyder\u2019s testimony began, Race Team Alliance executive director Jonathan Marshall<\/a> completed his time on the stand. Defense attorneys presented messages showing Marshall once called the 2021 charter agreement \u201ca win,\u201d suggesting the negotiations were not as one-sided as the plaintiffs now argue. This exchange was highlighted in Krause\u2019s Frontstretch coverage<\/a>.<\/p>\n Still, testimony from the previous week continued to shape Monday\u2019s discussion. Reporting from Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic<\/a> described how Heather Gibbs of Joe Gibbs Racing recalled a tense moment during charter talks, saying team owner Joe Gibbs pleaded with NASCAR chairman Jim France, \u201cdon\u2019t do this to us.\u201d Her account captured how pressured teams felt under NASCAR\u2019s final charter offer.<\/p>\n Marshall also discussed NASCAR\u2019s track agreements, saying they made it \u201cimpossible\u201d to build a rival stock car series because top racetracks were tied up in exclusive contracts. Gluck and Bianchi<\/a> noted how his testimony supported the plaintiffs\u2019 argument that NASCAR limits competition by controlling the places where teams can race.<\/p>\n Judge pushes for faster progress<\/p>\n Judge Bell<\/a> emphasized that the trial must proceed at a faster pace to stay on track. Monday\u2019s session began late as attorneys argued over exhibits that had been submitted in the early morning hours. Bell said filings needed to come earlier and warned both sides not to slow down the process again. Krause noted in Frontstretch<\/a> that the trial\u2019s sluggish pace has put the original two-week plan at risk.<\/p>\n The plaintiffs still plan to call NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps, team owner Richard Childress<\/a>, and NASCAR chairman Jim France. NASCAR\u2019s defense team is preparing 16 witnesses as well. With large financial claims and questions about control of the sport at stake, Monday\u2019s economic testimony set a serious tone for the rest of the week.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tDogli Wilberforce<\/a> is a sports writer who covers NASCAR, Formula 1 and IndyCar Series for Heavy Sports. With bylines at Total Apex Sports and Last Word on Sports, Wilberforce has built a reputation for delivering timely, engaging coverage that blends sharp analysis with accessible storytelling. Wilberforce has covered everything from major football transfers to fight-night drama, bringing readers the insight and context behind the headlines. More about Dogli Wilberforce<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on NASCAR\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Image CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – DECEMBER 1: Michael Jordan, co-owner of 23XI Racing, departs the Charles R…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":324724,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-334538","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-nascar","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334538","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=334538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334538\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/324724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=334538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=334538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=334538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}