Team claims NASCAR has revoked approval to buy new card unless federal antitrust lawsuit is dropped

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Front Row Motorsports, one of two teams suing NASCAR in federal court, accused the stock car series Thursday of rejecting its planned purchase of a valuable charter unless the lawsuit was waived.

Front Row made the request in a court filing and said it involves the proposed purchase of the charter from Stewart-Haas Racing. Front Row said the series would approve it only if Front Row and 23XI Racing dropped their court case.

“Specifically, NASCAR informed us that they would not approve the transfer (of the card) unless we agreed to drop the current antitrust lawsuit against them,” Front Row CEO Jerry Freeze said in a statement on own liability filed in the US District Court for the West. North Carolina.

In September, the two teams refused to sign NASCAR’s final take-it-or-leave-it offer on a new revenue-sharing deal. All other 13 teams have signed the contract.

Front Row and 23XI refused and are now in court. 23XI co-owner Michael Jordan said he took the fight to court on behalf of all the teams that compete in the top motorsports series in the United States. NASCAR argued that the two teams simply did not like the terms of the final charter agreement and asked for the lawsuit to be dismissed.

Earlier this week, the trial was transferred to a different judge than the one who heard the first round of arguments and ruled against the two teams in their request to be recognized in 2025 by a temporary injunction as authorized teams as the trial proceeds.

The latest filing is heavily redacted because it outlines alleged retaliatory actions by NASCAR that the teams say have caused irreparable harm.

Both Front Row and 23XI want to expand from two full-time cars to three and have agreements with SHR to buy one charter each as SHR moves from four cars to one for 2025. The teams can still race next season, but should therefore make “open” teams that do not have the same protections or financial gains that come from holding a charter.

Freeze claimed in the affidavit that Front Row signed a purchase agreement with SHR in April, and NASCAR President Steve Phelps told Freeze in September that the deal had been approved.

But when Front Row submitted the documents last month, NASCAR began asking for additional information. A Dec. 4 request from NASCAR was “primarily related to our ongoing litigation with NASCAR,” Freeze said.

“NASCAR informed us on December 5, 2024 that it opposed the transfer and would not approve it, contrary to the previous oral approval for the transfer confirmed by Phelps before filing the lawsuit,” Freeze said. “NASCAR has stated that the reason it is now reversing course and opposing the transfer is because NASCAR is insisting that we drop the lawsuit and antitrust claims against it as a condition of approval.”

A second affidavit by Steve Lauletta, president of 23XI Racing, alleges that NASCAR accused 23XI and Front Row of producing “new circumstances” in a renewed motion for an injunction and of a “coordinated effort in behind the scenes”.

“This is completely false,” Lauletta said.

Front Row is owned by businessman Bob Jenkins, while 23XI is owned by Jordan, retired NBA Hall of Famer Denny Hamlin, three-time Daytona 500 winner, and longtime Jordan advisor Curtis Polk.

NASCAR has operated with 36 charter teams and four open seats since the charter agreement began in 2016. NASCAR now says it will move forward in 2025 with 32 charter teams and eight open seats, with charter offers for Front Row and 23XI canceled and SHR charter in limbo.

The teams argue that they have to be leased under some of their contractual agreements with current sponsors and drivers, and competing next year as open teams will cause significant losses.

“23XI exists to compete at the highest level of stock car racing, striving to become the best team it can be. But that ambition can only be traced back to NASCAR, which has monopolized the market as the only top circuit for stock car racing,” said Lauletta. “Our efforts to expand – buying more cars and increasing our track presence – are critical to achieving this goal.

“It is not hypocritical to operate within the only system available while we strive for excellence and fight for championships,” he continued. “It’s a must because NASCAR’s monopoly leaves 23XI no alternate circuit, no different terms, and no other viable avenue to compete at this level.”

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