NASCAR agrees to hold charters for 23XI, Front Row if they win suit

Following a contentious hearing in a Charlotte court on Thursday, NASCAR has filed a notice that it will preserve six charters for 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports should they prevail in their federal antitrust lawsuit against the Sanctioning Body.

This is a response to NASCAR notifying all parties earlier in the week that it had reached an agreement in principle to transfer one of the charters previously held by 23XI and Front Row to a new redacted organization in advance of the 2026 Cup Series season.

The two teams, as part of a preliminary injunction motion, asked the court to render a ruling that would prevent NASCAR from allowing another party to acquire one of those charters. Remember, that as far as NASCAR is concerned, those four charters were forfeit when 23XI and Front Row opted to not sign the charter extension agreement 12 months ago.

23XI and Front Row ultimately sued NASCAR on federal antitrust grounds with a trial scheduled for December.  

As part of oral arguments on Thursday, the federal judge overseeing the case asked NASCAR why it couldn’t just issue one of the four charters it has had in reserve instead of one of those disputed as part of this case.

NASCAR said it would create ‘uncertainty’ and draw the ire of other charter holding teams due to how the system is structured, and the Sanctioning Body’s filing on Friday addressed everything deliberated in court.

Pending the ruling of the judge next week, NASCAR is still prepared to issue one of the former charters held by 23XI and Front Row but is now committing to holding six charters in reserve for next season should the teams suing the Sanctioning Body prevail.

These six are comprised of the four charters that have been held in reserve by NASCAR since the system was instituted in 2016 in addition to the two charters Stewart-Haas Racing sold to 23XI and Front Row last year.

The latter two charters have effectively been held in a sort of limbo since an appeals court overruled an injunction decision in December that forced NASCAR to treat the two teams as if they held charters, even though they did not sign the agreement, but also forcing through the SHR charter transactions.

A reason for NASCAR to want to issue one of the charters previously held by 23XI and Front Row is that they are more valuable than those held in reserve. Charters are paid out according to an algorithm based on previous seasons’ performance. It stands to reason that a charter that was active would receive greater payouts than those that didn’t exist.

Of course, if 23XI and Front Row prevail in front of a jury in December, the two teams could ask for the difference in value in judgement. From a NASCAR standpoint, losing the lawsuit case means they have far bigger problems that whatever it will have to pay the two teams in damages.

It would the face of NASCAR business changing drastically from the forced sale of tracks, the ARCA Racing Series and possibly even a revamp of the charter system.  

Of course, the judge could render all of this moot next week by issuing a restraining order against NASCAR moving any charters whatsoever. Judge Kenneth D. Bell also needs to render a new decision over whether or not the two teams should again be recognized as having de facto charter status despite the previous appeal decision by the Fourth Circuit.

Jeffrey Kessler issues response

“Plaintiffs do not agree that Defendants’ notice and representations moot Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction,” said Jeffrey Kessler in a provided statement, who is representing the teams. “Plaintiffs further do not agree that Defendants’ notice and representations demonstrate Plaintiffs face no irreparable harm. Plaintiffs will provide their position to the Court on Defendants’ notice and representations on September 2, 2025.”