23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports filed a preliminary injunction to race as chartered NASCAR Cup Series teams in 2025 as the legal process continues with the antitrust case filed against NASCAR.
“The 23XI and Front Row Motorsports teams are fully committed to competing in next year’s Cup Series,” a joint statement said. “Today’s procedural filing is the next step in advancing our case against NASCAR and their monopolistic practices while protecting our drivers, race teams, and sponsors by establishing our legal right to run in 2025.”
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Cup Series teams who have charters receive significantly more money than Open teams. 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are also in the process of expanding their operations to three cars next season.
The antitrust case, which accuses NASCAR of unlawful monopolization, was filed Oct. 2 in North Carolina. 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports were the only two organizations that did not sign the 2025 Charter Agreement.
In addition to the preliminary injunction, the teams also filed a motion for expedited discovery to receive immediate access to documents and files from NASCAR CEO Jim France, Lesa France Kennedy, Ben Kennedy, Steve O’Donnell, Steve Phelps and Scott Prime. The information the teams are seeking documents discussing the mandatory release provision in the 2025 charter agreement; documents discussing NASCAR’s decision to end negotiating with the Team Negotiating Committee and only negotiate with individual racing teams for the 2025 charter agreement; and documents discussing NASCAR’s decision to present to the teams a take-it-or-leave-it final proposal for the 2025 charter agreement.
The motion also included seeking documents and files related to NASCAR’s exclusive contracts with racetracks, its acquisitions of the ARCA Menards Series, and the provision in the charter agreement that restricts teams from competing in non-NASCAR sanctioned events as well as teams being unable to use Next Gen parts and pieces in non-NASCAR sanctioned events.
“NASCAR’s dominant control over racing is not because of its superior skill or business acumen, but rather its history of exclusionary acts and restrictive agreements that have stifled competition through its monopoly power,” said Jeffrey Kessler of Winston & Strawn, the lead counsel for 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports. “We believe our expedited discovery requests of NASCAR and the France family will shed light on their anticompetitive practices and support a preliminary injunction ruling that 23XI and Front Row Motorsports have a legally protected right to race next year while our antitrust case proceeds in Court.”
NASCAR has not commented on the lawsuit.