23XI, FRM Claim Competing As 'Open' Teams Would Risk Antitrust Rights
There is less than one week until the scheduled injunction hearing for 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports (November 4), as the two NASCAR Cup Series teams look to have the court intervene and provide them with Charters for the 2025 season.
It’s the first, and most time-sensitive, matter in the antitrust lawsuit filed by the two organizations earlier this month (October 3), against NASCAR and its CEO, Jim France.
Nearly a month has gone by since the lawsuit was first filed, and the back-and-forth between the two parties continues, with the most recent movement coming in the form of a blunt response from NASCAR, explaining why they believe an injunction isn’t warranted.
In NASCAR’s filing on October 23, the sanctioning body called the motion for an injunction “an attempt to force NASCAR into a contract on Plaintiffs’ preferred terms” and “a masterclass in contradiction.”
23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports have issued another response, in an October 30 court filing, which notes that NASCAR, in its response, did not dispute any claims that the sanctioning body has used exclusionary acts to maintain their monopoly.
Furthermore, the two organizations have brought to light some new information – that any team looking to field an “open entry” in the NASCAR Cup Series, would be subject to signing the same release of antitrust claims that were found in the 2025 Charter Agreement.
“Defendants argue that Plaintiffs can compete as ‘open’ teams and avoid irreparable harm. But what Defendants do not tell the Court is that they have included the same mandatory release in their “open” agreements as they imposed in their Charter Agreements,” the court filing reads. “Without an injunction, Plaintiffs cannot compete at all without suffering the irreparable harm of risking the forfeiture of their antitrust claims.”
The teams further argue that an injunction would not actually harm NASCAR, but instead, require the sanctioning body to enter into the status quo of the 2025 Charter Agreement – the same one that was offered two weeks before the litigation began – minus the ability to enforce the release.
“By contrast, if the injunction is not granted, Plaintiffs will either have to forego competing or risk losing their antitrust rights.”
- A court filing from October 30
In this filing, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports also make the point that since the Charter Agreement was created in 2016, there has only been a single organization to field an “open entry” on a full-time basis in the NASCAR Cup Series.
In 2020, Gaunt Brothers Racing fielded the No. 96 Toyota Camry on a full-time basis in the NASCAR Cup Series, with Xfinity Series champion Daniel Suarez behind the wheel of the unchartered entry.
The team successfully attempted to qualify for all 36 NASCAR Cup Series events, with Suarez finishing a respectable 31st-place in final point standings, but once the season finished, the team immediately downsized. In 2021, Gaunt Brothers Racing only attempted eight races, before shutting down at season’s end.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Contrary to the argument made in the October 30 court filing, multiple organizations have fielded "open entries" on a full-time basis in the NASCAR Cup Series, including Wood Brothers Racing (2016, Ryan Blaney), MBM Motorsports (2020, Timmy Hill), and JTG-Daugherty Racing (2021, Ryan Preece). Only one of those teams (JTG-Daugherty Racing) fielded an "open" entry while also fielding a "chartered" entry.
It won’t be long until the verdict in the injunction hearing is heard, and thus, the fate of the four NASCAR Cup Series charters currently held by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports – as well as the two in limbo that the organizations purchased from Stewart-Haas Racing.
