{"id":337359,"date":"2025-12-10T18:43:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T18:43:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/337359\/"},"modified":"2025-12-10T18:43:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T18:43:13","slug":"antitrust-attorney-rakesh-kilaru-weighs-in-on-23xi-racing-front-row-vs-nascar-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/337359\/","title":{"rendered":"Antitrust attorney Rakesh Kilaru weighs in on 23XI Racing, Front Row vs. NASCAR trial"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NASCAR <\/a>antitrust trial continues. With so much on the line for the sport, teams, and fans, it\u2019s important to know what\u2019s happening. In a recent interview with 5GOATs, Rakesh Kilaru, a partner at Wilkinson Stekloff<\/a> and antitrust expert, gave his professional thoughts on the case. <\/p>\n

We have heard from many witnesses throughout the Plaintiffs\u2019 argument so far. From Denny Hamlin to Michael Jordan to Steve Phelps and finally, Jim France. There were others on the stand as well. <\/p>\n

As the NASCAR trial starts to wind down, and the Defendants begin their arguments, it might be helpful to understand how these arguments are made, how the jury will play a role, a little clarification on how damages will be handled, and how any potential changes to the sport will be made in the case the teams win out. <\/p>\n

Witnesses help attorneys build the story for the jury<\/p>\n

When witnesses take the stand, there is a rhyme and reason for it. It doesn\u2019t just matter who they are and what they say. It matters how they say it, when they say it, and who speaks before and after them. <\/p>\n

Denny Hamlin opened up the testimony last week. He was a rather combative and passionate witness on the stand, particularly when speaking to NASCAR\u2019s attorneys. Then you had witnesses like Heather Gibbs, who was very emotional in a different way. She was followed by the smooth-talking and charming Michael Jordan. <\/p>\n

It is all about building the story. And that story has to be convincing to jurors<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, at a higher level, you\u2019re trying to figure out, what\u2019s the story, and does it appeal to jurors,\u201d Rakesh Kilaru said about witness selection. \u201cAnd I think the fun thing about this case is that you have two really good trial lawyers involved, is that, you know, you can hear anti-trust cases and there can sometimes be temptation to try to make it super dry and practical, and just have economic experts get on the stand and talk about the economics on both sides, and, you know, the market is this, or the market is that. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd what I\u2019ve found in my own experience is when you actually try these cases, both sides have to figure out how to connect with the jurors and tell a story that follows the law that actually makes them view it from your side. More often than not, it\u2019s not some very political anti-trust economic argument, even though I think jurors take their job seriously and really try to figure that out. It\u2019s which side seems more credible, which side has the most of the story, which side is saying things that match to what they were saying back in the time.\u201d <\/p>\n

Jeffrey Kessler has attempted to paint a story of a stubborn and abusive NASCAR leadership. That leadership is headed by Jim France, the owner and CEO of NASCAR<\/a>. France took the stand on Tuesday and didn\u2019t really say much of anything. A lot of \u201cI don\u2019t knows\u201d and \u201cI don\u2019t recalls\u201d were reportedly thrown out. <\/p>\n

\u201cAny good trial lawyer, and there are really good trial lawyers on both sides of the fence. \u2026 I think good trial lawyers, are going to think about exactly that kind of choreography. What to present when, in what order, and there are technical reasons for it, you know, what evidence does the jury need to hear at certain times? <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s also the storytelling aspect of it. You know, what keeps the jurors together, what keeps them engaged, what keeps them focused.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jury will handle damages, Judge Bell will correct antitrust violations<\/p>\n

So, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are seeking damages. Edward Snyder, the economic expert witness for the teams, calculated the damages<\/a>. In total, the teams are seeking a combined $365 million. And what if the teams win and NASCAR is found to be an abusive monopoly? Who determines the remedies for those antitrust violations? <\/p>\n

As Mr. Kilaru explains, it is the jury who will determine damages. However, Judge Kenneth Bell will be the one to weigh in on remedies to the business of NASCAR, should they lose the case. Judge Bell can either take recommendations from the Plaintiffs or rule how he sees fit in that situation. <\/p>\n

\u201cI believe the case has two phases, right?\u201d Kilaru said. \u201cThere\u2019s this damages phase, which you can try to figure out if the plaintiffs are getting money. Then there would be a phase later on to determine if there needs to be any kind of a judgment. What should the structure look like? And the jury won\u2019t decide that. The judge will. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe jury will decide damages. \u2026 So typically in these cases, we\u2019ll have hired experts who will say, here\u2019s what an injunction would look like that would increase competition. And NASCAR will say, well, actually, that doesn\u2019t work for this reason or that reason. If you\u2019re going to impose an injunction, you should maybe do it like this instead. That\u2019s like the kind of common second phase of these cases. At the end of the day, it is up to the judge.\u201d<\/p>\n

In other words, we don\u2019t know what Judge Bell will do. However, it should be comforting to know that 23XI and Front Row aren\u2019t seeking to make a new series to compete against NASCAR. They aren\u2019t seeking to get rid of charters, but to make the charter agreement details more fair for all involved. <\/p>\n

Judge Bell has shown his concern for the sport in this case. He felt that the two sides should have settled out of court. But, that concern might mean he isn\u2019t willing to completely destroy the sport of NASCAR. While we don\u2019t know what he will rule in the event the teams win out, there might be some solace in the fact that he can take recommendations and input before making his decisions. <\/p>\n

Expert witnesses play vital role in NASCAR trial jury decision<\/p>\n

Edward Snyder and his expert testimony was largely boring. A lot of numbers, a lot of math, explaining how different leagues operate. There is a lot there that is a slog to get through. However, the expert witness will be vital to determining things like damages. The expert also pieces together the previous testimony to help complete the overall picture the attorneys are arguing. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think jurors evaluate experts in the way that they evaluate other witnesses,\u201d Kilaru said. \u201cDid I understand what they were saying? Were they helpful? Were they credible? You know, did they seem like they had a dog in the fight and they were a hired gun? Those are things that can matter to people. You see a paid expert on the stand and he\u2019s super nice to the person who\u2019s asking the questions, and then the other side gets up and will deny that the sky is blue.\u201d <\/p>\n

Jury must calculate damages based on facts of the case<\/p>\n

When a jury rules in favor of a party that is seeking damages, they can\u2019t just make up a number. The ruling from the jury has to be rooted in the facts of the case. That is where the expert and his calculation of damages comes into play. <\/p>\n

Snyder calculated three areas of lost revenue<\/a> in his expert report. Lost Profits from Reduced Revenues ($84.5 million), Total Reduction in Market Value ($260.2 million), and Lost Revenues for 2025 ($20.1 million). The Plaintiffs argue that NASCAR\u2019s practices have prevented them from reaching the full potential value of their teams. On top of that is the Lost Revenue in 2025 for losing their charters, and the performance money that comes with those charters. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason it\u2019s important, in my view, is that at the end of the day, the jurors have to make a decision, and that decision has to be grounded in the evidence that they actually heard at the trial, right? So, the expert has to convince the jury that the numbers he\u2019s putting out are more likely than not the right numbers, and what the plaintiffs really want and need, I think, is for the jury to ultimately write down the numbers that the expert gives.\u201d <\/p>\n

Kilaru brought up a recent trial his firm was part of. The NFL Sunday Ticket class-action lawsuit from 2024 almost had an issue with the damages the jury awarded in the class-action suit. While the judge in that case threw out the ruling due to flawed methodology with two witnesses, there was an issue with what the jury awarded in damages. The number the jury came up with had no basis in the testimony and evidence of the trial. <\/p>\n

So, should the teams win, the numbers that Snyder brought up will be important. It will be from his testimony and the testimony of NASCAR\u2019s expert that will likely determine the damages in this case, if any are awarded at all. <\/p>\n

Judge Bell has pushed the pace in NASCAR trial, don\u2019t worry<\/p>\n

A major concern that NASCAR fans have had in the trial is the timing. Judge Bell has been a hardliner on getting this trial finished up by Friday. While we might have to push closing statements to Monday, the trial should largely be done by the end of business on Friday. <\/p>\n

There are many fans concerned that pushing the pace could cause a mistrial or an appeal. What if NASCAR feels they didn\u2019t get to make their argument fully? Attorneys for NASCAR have apparently cut down the witness list in order to facilitate the schedule. <\/p>\n

So, is there reason to be worried in the NASCAR trial? Anything can happen, but Rakesh Kilaru says there isn\u2019t much to be concerned with. <\/p>\n

\u201cI would say, I don\u2019t want to speak for [Judge Bell], but I would bet that the person in the world who is most concerned about that possibility is actually Judge Bell,\u201d Kilaru said. \u201cBecause, you know, the last thing you want if you\u2019re a judge and you preside over this trial and you bring a jury in \u2026 So, that\u2019s why I think we see some of the things that have been happening from a timing perspective. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn my experience, as a general matter, defense cases are usually shorter than the plaintiffs\u2019 case. And what I mean is, like, by the time the plaintiff says, I rest my case, and the defense gets up, typically the defense case ends up being a little less long. That\u2019s partly because the jury\u2019s heard a lot already, and it\u2019s partly because, you know, you don\u2019t want to seem to be the side hat\u2019s belaboring things or making claims they already made.\u201d <\/p>\n

NASCAR has an uphill battle after monopoly power ruling<\/p>\n

Of course, before anyone even took to the stand, the court ruled NASCAR had a monopoly ahead of trial. So, that puts NASCAR in a tough position. Many times, antitrust cases will end before a market definition is established, or the alleged monopolist is found not to be a monopolist at all. There are other times when a monopoly is formed, but not through illegal business practices. Having a monopoly in and of itself is not illegal. <\/p>\n

Judge Bell ruled that NASCAR has a monopoly before the trial. The monopoly is in the market of premier stock car racing. So, this trial was simplified before it began. At least, for the Plaintiffs. NASCAR and Jim France have to prove that while they have a monopoly, it has been due to being the best stock car racing business in the country and doing things legally. They are simply the superior product in the market. We\u2019ll see how the jury takes that argument. <\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes with sports leagues, and I don\u2019t want to overgeneralize, but sometimes with sports leagues, those arguments can be a little hard to make to begin with,\u201d Kilaru explained. \u201cBecause there is often one ascendant league or one ascendant form of competition in a sport. So, you may want to contest the market, but in some cases, and I\u2019m not sure if this is one of them, but it\u2019s not obvious how much that would have been a contested issue at the beginning. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut with that said, given that Judge Bell obviously thought they had a strong argument. So, it sounds like that would have been something that they would have pushed in this trial. So I do think it makes it more difficult [for NASCAR] for sure. I think the real question is, sometimes it\u2019s hard to get jurors to follow this rule, but the rule is, it\u2019s not unlawful to have a monopoly. If you get a monopoly through fair competition, that\u2019s fine. The question is, are you doing things to keep it that are unlawful? And so that\u2019s what I suspect the trial is going to focus on.\u201d<\/p>\n

NASCAR begins its trial defense today. We will see if they can undo any damage that the Plaintiffs have already done to them in this case. When the jury finally rules on this case, who will come out on top? More importantly, how will NASCAR change? The antitrust trial has been dominating headlines for months at this point, and it is almost over. At least, barring any appeals. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NASCAR antitrust trial continues. With so much on the line for the sport, teams, and fans, it\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":337360,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-337359","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\/337359","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=337359"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337359\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/337360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=337359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=337359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=337359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}