23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports have jointly filed an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR and its CEO Jim France. It was filed Wednesday morning in the Western District of North Carolina. The suit alleges NASCAR and its leadership have used anti-competitive practices that have prevented fair competition within the sport.
“We share a passion for racing, the thrill of competition, and winning,” said a joint statement from 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports. “Off the racetrack, we share a belief that change is necessary for the sport we love. Together, we brought this antitrust case so that racing can thrive and become a more competitive and fair sport in ways that will benefit teams, drivers, sponsors, and most importantly, fans.”
The lawsuit is the next step in the ongoing dispute between the two organizations and NASCAR over the charter agreement. 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports were the only two organizations — of 15 — who did not sign the agreement when given a deadline the Friday of Atlanta Motor Speedway race weekend (Sept. 6).
NASCAR and its teams had engaged in tense negotiations for two years on a new agreement. Throughout the process, among the items teams sought were for the charters to become permanent and a larger share of the revenue.
In the introduction of the lawsuit, it explains that the “case is about the unlawful monopolization of premier stock car racing by the France family in order to enrich themselves at the expense of the premier stock car racing teams that the fans come out to see and that sponsors and broadcasters value.”
23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports claim they’ve been harmed and suffered antitrust injury and are entitled to operate under the 2025 Charter Agreement until the completion of the litigation without relinquishing their antitrust claims; permanent injunctive relief to end NASCAR’s exclusionary practices and restore competition in the relevant market; and trebled monetary damages for the harm suffered under the anticompetitive, below market terms of the 2016 Charter Agreement as well as the harm the organizations will suffer under the 2025 Charter Agreement while going through litigation.
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The anti-competitive practices listed in the lawsuit are: NASCAR buying a majority of premier racetracks that are exclusive to NASCAR races; imposing exclusivity deals on NASCAR-sanctioned tracks; NASCAR acquiring a competitor, the ARCA Menards Series (which prevented it from growing into a more sustainable competitor while instead becoming a NASCAR feeder series); preventing teams from participating in other stock car racing series; NASCAR retaining ownership of Next Gen parts and pieces while forcing teams to buy those parts and pieces from NASCAR chosen single-source suppliers.
“The France family has used NASCAR to acquire and maintain a monopsony position over premier stock car racing teams through, among other anticompetitive actions, acquisitions of other racing circuits, racetracks, anticompetitive agreements that restrict the availability of racetracks that are suitable for premier stock car racing, monopoly rules regarding the exclusive use of specialized ‘Next Gen’ cars, and non-compete restrictions that prevent premier stock car teams competing in the Cup Series from also participating in races outside of NASCAR’s circuit.”
The lawsuit details what led to a charter agreement as no guaranteed prize money from competing in NASCAR races was a reliable revenue source for teams. Cup Series teams have long depended on sponsorships to fund a race team. In 2022, Jeff Gordon, the vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, said the organization had not made a profit in years, which he then estimated to be about 10 years when speaking to Dale Earnhardt Jr. earlier this season.
At the same time, however, NASCAR was benefitting from television deals that have increased since the 2001 season with the introduction of major networks such as FOX Sports and TBS. The next media rights deal begins in 2025 with FOX Sports, NBC Sports, TNT Sports and Amazon. The lawsuit alleges NASCAR’s broadcast deals have totaled $23.1 billion.
In 2016, NASCAR implemented a charter system but the lawsuit alleges that while it was “an improvement over the prior economic conditions of the teams, it still was the anticompetitive product of NASCAR’s unlawful monopoly over premier stock car racing in the United States.” Included in the original 2016 agreement was that teams would agree not to compete in other professional racing series.
The provision was expanded upon in the 2025 charter agreement. Per the lawsuit, “while teams used to be prohibited from participating in any professional ‘stock car racing’ other than NASCAR, teams with 2025 Charter Agreements are now prohibited from participating in any ‘automobile or truck racing’ series not sanctioned by NASCAR.”
A jury trial has been demanded by the Plaintiffs (23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports). Through its filing, they are seeking relevant discovery from both NASCAR and France.
As stated in the lawsuit, “It has become evident that this antitrust litigation is the only way to free up the market for competition and enable Plaintiffs, and other stock car racing teams, to obtain the fair charter terms that will be realized in a competitive market for their services as top-tier stock car racing teams. A competitive market will enable the teams to earn the reasonable profits that are necessary for them to re-invest in their businesses and create an even more exciting product for stock car racing fans, sponsors, and broadcasters. The France family and NASCAR are monopolistic bullies. And bullies will continue to impose their will to hurt others until their targets stand up and refuse to be victims. The moment has now arrived.”
NASCAR has made no comment about the suit.
