Michael Jordan, Two Teams Sue NASCAR for Unfair Practices

• The federal lawsuit filed claims NASCAR and the France family have stifled competition, and control the sport in ways that unfairly benefit them.

• The two teams will seek treble damages for the anti-competitive terms that teams have been subject to under the 2016 charter agreement.
  

An antitrust lawsuit filed Wednesday by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports against NASCAR and its CEO Jim France contends the stock car racing sanctioning body and its leadership have used anti-competitive practices to prevent fair competition in the sport.

“I love the sport of racing and the passion of our fans, but the way NASCAR is run today is unfair to teams, drivers, sponsors, and fans,” Michael Jordan, co-owner of 23XI Racing, said in a prepared statement. “Today’s action shows I’m willing to fight for a competitive market where everyone wins.”

The federal lawsuit filed in the Western District of North Carolina in Charlotte claims NASCAR and the France family operate without transparency, have stifled competition, and control the sport in ways that unfairly benefit them at the expense of team owners, drivers, sponsors, partners and fans, through the following anti-competitive practices:

• Buying a majority of the premier race tracks that are exclusive to NASCAR races.

• Imposing exclusivity deals on NASCAR-sanctioned race tracks.

• Acquiring ARCA, the only notable stock car racing series competitor.

• Prevent teams from participating in any other stock car races, while also retaining ownership over Next Gen parts and cars.

• Forcing teams to buy their parts from single-source suppliers chosen by NASCAR.

Central to the lawsuit are the original NASCAR charters adopted in 2016 and the recently updated 2025 agreements, which 23XI and Front Row Motorsports declined to sign because of “unfair terms.” Thirteen other teams signed the charter agreement that begins in 2025 and runs through 2031.

Front Row and 23XI maintain that after more than two years of attempted negotiations regarding the 2025 agreements they concluded that litigation was the only way to address what they considered anti-competitive practices by NASCAR and the France family.

In the near future, the two teams said they would file a preliminary injunction that would allow their organizations to race next season under the 2025 charter agreement, while pursuing the antitrust litigation. The filing will seek discovery from NASCAR and Jim France related to their exclusionary practices and intent to insulate themselves from any competition. The two teams will seek treble damages for the anti-competitive terms that teams have been subject to under the 2016 charter agreement.

“It’s actually pretty simple, in my opinion,” Denny Hamlin, part-owner of 23XI Racing, said in a prepared statement. “When I look around, I see that the best and most competitive sports in the world understand that when teams thrive, fans benefit, and that everyone who invests in making the sport a success should share fairly in that success. With the right changes, we can certainly make that a reality in racing.”

Front Row Motorsports owner Bob Jenkins said he had been a member of the racing community for 20 years, but the time had come for change.

“We need a more competitive and fair system where teams, drivers, and sponsors can be rewarded for our collective investment by building long-term enterprise value, just like every other successful professional sports league,” Jenkins said in a prepared statement.