In the ongoing legal battle between NASCAR and two of its teams, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports have asked a judge to dismiss the sanctioning body’s counterclaim. The request was made in a 20-page filing in a North Carolina district court on Wednesday.
The teams argued that NASCAR’s need to amend its original counterclaim further demonstrates the weakness of its arguments, calling them an attempt to distract and shift attention away from its own unlawful, monopolistic actions.
NASCAR’s counterclaim specifically targeted Michael Jordan’s longtime business manager, Curtis Polk. Jordan is a co-owner of 23XI Racing. The legal dispute began after more than two years of negotiations on new charter agreements, which are NASCAR’s equivalent of a franchise model. The 30-page filing contends that Polk “willfully” violated antitrust laws by orchestrating anticompetitive collective conduct in connection with the most recent charter agreements.
23XI and Front Row were the only two organizations out of 15 that refused to sign the new agreements, which were presented to the teams last September in a take-it-or-leave-it offer just 48 hours before the start of NASCAR’s playoffs.
The charters, which were fought for by the teams ahead of the 2016 season, have been extended twice. The latest extension is for seven years to match the current media rights deal and guarantee 36 of the 40 spots in each week’s field to the teams that hold the charters, as well as other financial incentives. 23XI and Front Row refused to sign and subsequently sued, alleging that NASCAR and the France family, who own the stock car series, are a monopoly.
NASCAR has already lost one round in court, with the two teams being recognized as chartered organizations for the 2025 season as the legal dispute continues through the courts. NASCAR has also appealed a judge’s rejection of its motion to dismiss the case.
