NASCAR’s Charter War Finally Goes to Court—And It Starts Monday

The lawsuit brought against NASCAR by two of its Cup Series race teams is set to begin Monday at the Federal Courthouse in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Barring an 11th-hour development, the lawsuit titled “23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports v. NASCAR” will open with jury selection and likely proceed to opening statements on the first day of trial before Judge Kenneth D. Bell.

In October of 2024, 23XI (co-owned by Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin and former NBA superstar Michael Jordan) and Front Row (owned by Bob Jenkins) filed suit against NASCAR under Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act, accusing the sanctioning body of anticompetitive practices following a two-plus year negotiation with race teams for a new charter agreement that began in 2025.

Though the lawsuit cites NASCAR’s ownership of race tracks, the exclusivity of sanctioning agreements and the use of single-source parts in the current Gen-7 race car, the crux of the lawsuit involves the 2025 Cup Series charter agreement, which 23XI and Front Row declined to sign.

The remaining 13 chartered NASCAR Cup Series teams, however, are parties to the agreement, which runs concurrent with the seven-year television broadcast package that will expire at the end of the 2031 season but includes another seven-year extension guaranteed through 2038 as well as additional exclusive negotiating period after that.

The charter system, created at the request of team owners, was introduced in 2016. All told, 36 charters, which guaranteed starting positions in all 36 points-paying Cup races as well as higher payouts, were awarded to established teams at no cost.

“The France family started NASCAR in 1948 using their own resources, grit and ingenuity,” NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps said. “They have taken countless personal and financial risks, investing billions of dollars and untold hours into growing this sport to create opportunity for teams to race in front of fans for nearly eight decades. We are proud of what we built for fans together with the race teams, especially since the charters were introduced.”

Over the course of 10 years, the aggregate value of the charters has grown to $1.5 billion, with individual charters selling for as much as $45 million. When NASCAR signed a new media rights deal with FOX, NBC, Turner and Prime in 2023 for nearly $8 billion, all new money over the previous rights deal went to race teams under the 2025 charters in addition to $50 million in other funds contributed directly from NASCAR and tracks.

In a recent filing that included declarations from team owners who have signed the charter agreement, Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick offered the following:

“Shortly after Hendrick Motorsports signed its four charters, I made remarks to members of the press that conveyed my perspective: I think we worked really hard for two years and it got down to, you’re not going to make everybody happy,” Hendrick said. “But in any negotiation, you’re not going to get everything you want, and so I felt it was a fair deal and we protected the charters, which was number one, we got the revenue increase, I feel a lot of things we didn’t like we got taken out, so I’m happy with where we were.

“The Charter agreement is critical to the stability of the NASCAR ecosystem—the teams, the businesses that support us and NASCAR itself. 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.”

NASCAR issued the following statement citing the declarations from Hendrick and such fellow team owners as Roger Penske, Joe Gibbs, Richard Childress and Brad Keselowski:

“Today’s filing demonstrates that NASCAR’s charter system has the support of race teams throughout the garage, and that the 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports lawsuit is not in the best interests of the sport. This lawsuit is not about antitrust; it is merely an attempt to renegotiate an agreement that was signed and is being honored by all other race teams.

“Together with our race team partners, we remain committed to delivering the best of stock car racing to our fans every weekend.”

Hendrick and Penske both are on NASCAR’s witness list for the trial. Jordan is expected to testify for the plaintiffs.

The lawsuit comes to trial after several significant rulings already have been made. In December 2024, Bell granted a preliminary injunction that would have allowed 23XI and Front Row to race as chartered teams while the lawsuit was being contested.

However, the Fourth District Court of Appeals vacated the injunction in June, and when the 2025 season concluded Nov. 2 at Phoenix Raceway, 23XI and Front Row were racing as unchartered or ‘open’ teams.

Two days after the season finale, Bell dismissed NASCAR’s counterclaim that 23XI and Front Row had colluded to form an “illegal cartel” with other race teams to manipulate charter negotiations.

Further, Bell granted a motion from 23XI and Front Row for partial summary judgment in limiting the relevant market definition for the lawsuit to “premier stock car racing.” NASCAR had sought a broader market definition that included other racing series.

“While we respect the Court’s decision, we believe it is legally flawed and we will address it at trial and in the Fourth Circuit if necessary,” NASCAR stated.

It is against this background that the jury will begin to decide the issues of fact when the trial begins on Monday.