NASCAR submitted its rebuttal to the injunction requested by 23XI and Front Row Motorsports on Wednesday evening. The two teams have asked to be allowed to continue to race with charters in 2025 while their antitrust lawsuit against the series awaits resolution.
The disagreement stems from negotiations over the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Charter Agreement, which stretched over two years before culminating in what the series said was its final offer in late August. 23XI and Front Row Motorsports were the only teams that allowed the deadline to pass without signing, and they followed up earlier this month by filing a preliminary injunction that, if granted, would allow them to maintain their Charter status with the associated benefits next year.
In NASCAR’s rebuttal this week, it accused the two teams of “an attempt to force NASCAR into a contract on Plaintiffs’ preferred terms,” and said that their request “falls far short of meeting the demanding standard required for obtaining a mandatory injunction.
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“The Motion seeks to change the status quo, not maintain it; is about money, not irreparable harm; and fails to show a likelihood of success on the merits. This lawsuit is not about protecting competition; it’s a bid by Plaintiffs to secure more money than they could through arm’s-length negotiations. The Motion should be denied.”
Going further, the series described the team’s request as “a masterclass in contradiction,” noting that the two teams describe the 2025 Charter as anti-competitive “despite it being the product of collective negotiations by racing teams that secured guaranteed Cup Series race spots and a far larger share of NASCAR’s media revenues.” It also noted that the teams are asking the court to force NASCAR to grant them the very terms that they rejected at the time of the signing deadline, and that they had never raised a complaint during the two-year negotiation period, during which they were operating under the previous 2016 Charter Agreement.
“These contradictions expose Plaintiffs’ motive: to use this Court to extract more money and better contractual terms from NASCAR,” the series said in its filing.
Elsewhere in the rebuttal, NASCAR highlights what it says is evidence of extended cooperation with the teams over decades, and references the concessions it made during the most recent charter negotiations, including a bump in the team’s share of media revenue.
It claims it also offered to extend the term of the charters but declined to make them permanent, prompting the teams to boycott a Team Owner Council meeting in early April. From that point, NASCAR negotiated with teams and their lawyers on an individual basis. Upon making its self-described “final offer” with an Aug. 31 deadline, 13 teams representing 32 charters signed on. 23XI and Front Row did not, despite being given additional time.
23XI and Front Row both field two charter entries and have each agreed to purchase a third from Stewart-Haas Racing, although NASCAR said neither team has filed a request for those charters to be transferred into their ownership.
In closing its rebuttal, NASCAR argued that “Plaintiffs’ requested relief would cause real harm to NASCAR and the 32 Charter holders.
“Teams must budget for next season, and NASCAR needs to calculate and communicate to teams the prize money available for each race. NASCAR cannot simply reissue 2025 charters without affecting charter teams and other stakeholders, especially since Plaintiffs’ refusal to sign the 2025
charters increased prize amounts for Charter and open teams alike.
“Moreover, forcing NASCAR into an unwanted contract goes against the public interest.”
The injunction hearing is scheduled to take place on Nov.4.