A judge has ruled against 23XI and Front Row Motorsports as the teams sought a preliminary injunction against NASCAR to recover their charters, according to a report from FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass. The news is a major development in a case that has been ongoing for months.
Judge Kenneth Bell provided the ruling, noting that NASCAR has agreed to leave six charters out of 40 available pending the outcome of the case. That keeps 23XI and FRM from being subject to “irreparable harm.”
Thus, Bell denied the motion for a preliminary injunction from 23XI and FRM. The lawsuit, which is an antitrust suit against NASCAR and chairman Jim France, will now proceed further. A trial is set for December.
Other Cup teams could stand to benefit
23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports were seeking a preliminary injunction to retain charter status for their six Cup Series entries. According to Alex Zietlow of The Charlotte Observer, NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps directly told the 13 Cup teams that signed the charter agreement that if 23XI and FRM’s request was denied in court this week, they will gain $1.5 million per charter.
That’s in line with NASCAR’s position all along, that it would reallocate any money received by 23XI and FRM to “the teams that signed a 2025 charter.” NASCAR’s 34-page filing from Aug. 18 appeared to include the money totals, though those numbers were redacted.
The letter that Phelps wrote to the teams revealed that they would receive “an average additional payment of approximately $1.5 million per charter.” Jeffrey Kessler, attorney for 23XI and FRM, is aware of Phelps’ letter to the teams.
“My clients are aware of the letter and its contents,” Kessler said in a statement to The Charlotte Observer. “This letter is yet another tactic by NASCAR to divide the teams and distract from the facts of their monopolistic practices. 23XI and Front Row Motorsports are pursuing this lawsuit to change the sport of NASCAR for the benefit of all drivers, fans, sponsors and teams, and believe the teams have much more to gain in the long run by growing the sport for everyone.”
23XI, FRM lawsuit gets nasty in court
The $1.5 million figure has been calculated through two parts. The first part is the amount of money NASCAR paid 23XI and FRM for the first 20 races of the season. NASCAR reportedly paid the two teams $25,146,300 in “fixed owner’s payments and performance payments,” and the other 30 charters would receive $838,210 once that money gets redistributed.
Then, there’s the second part — how much money the teams will receive if their charter status is not restored for the remainder of the 2025 season. Each chartered team will receive approximately $670,000 if the preliminary injunction request is denied, per the outlet. Both 23XI and FRM are currently racing as non-chartered organizations (open teams), and it’s been that way since July.
A hearing discussing the merits of the preliminary injunction request in late August was explosive. According to Toby Christie of Racing America, Judge Bell warned the two sides.
If both sides fail to reach a settlement, they will go to court Dec. 1. It doesn’t appear either side is close to stepping down, even with the blow dealt to 23XI and FRM on Wednesday.
On3’s Nick Geddes also contributed to this report.
