23XI, FRM Seeking Expedited Appeal of Injunction Denial
23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are appealing the decision of District Judge Frank D. Whitney, who denied the teams’ motion for a preliminary injunction last Friday without prejudice.
The injunction, filed in October, was designed to ensure 23XI and FRM could compete in the NASCAR Cup Series under the 2025 Charter Agreement for the duration of the litigation, while also preventing NASCAR from enforcing the anticompetitive release terms of the agreement.
In asking for the appeal, the two organizations -- who are suing NASCAR and its CEO, Jim France, in an antitrust lawsuit -- are also asking that said appeal be heard in an expedited manner, given the quick turnaround of the NASCAR off-season.
“The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season commences with the first race on February 2, 2025. Without the injunction, [23XI/FRM] will be forced to make a Hobson’s choice: either risk releasing their antitrust rights in this action or be out of business from competing as premier stock car racing teams,” the filing reads.
According to the teams, they are left in this situation because NASCAR has “used exclusionary acts to monopolize and control the only top-tier stock car racing series in which [the teams] can compete” and both the Charter and Open agreements require the organizations to waive their rights to an antitrust lawsuit.
Without the expedited hearing and preliminary injunction, the teams claim that they will have no option to continue their businesses without being forced to agree to NASCAR’s release and risking the loss of their claims for the antitrust lawsuit – a clause in the agreements that the sanctioning body says they would use as a defense should they compete as Chartered or Open teams.
“The district court denied [23XI/FRM]’s motion, and now [the teams] face immediate irreparable harm if they do not receive this court’s expedited review of the district court’s decision,” the filing reads. “That irreparable harm has already begun because [23XI/FRM] cannot assure sponsors, drivers, and fans that they will be able to compete as chartered teams in 2025 – a condition that puts those critical relationships with sponsors, drivers, and fans at immediate risk.”
Should 23XI and FRM not be granted the expedited review prior to mid-January 2025, then without having Charter Agreement rights, the teams would be left to decide on whether they want to sign the “Open” agreement or forgo the season-opening event on February 2, 2025.
The earliest possible timeline under a standard briefing schedule, according to the filing, would have an opening brief due by December 24, 2024, and completed by February 13, 2025, with the earliest oral argument date being March 18, 2025.
Under that schedule, the process would be moving too slowly, with the season set to begin on February 2 with the 2025 NASCAR Clash.
Therefore, the teams have proposed the following schedule: An opening brief from the teams due November 22, a response brief from NASCAR due December 4, and a reply brief from the teams due on December 6. Then, an oral argument would be scheduled as soon as possible, but no later than December 13.
"If the standard briefing schedule were followed here, briefing would not be completed until mid-February, and the Court's earliest oral argument date available following this schedule would be on March 18," the filing's closing statement reads. "This means that the proceedings would not conclude until almost two months into the 2025 Cup Series season and well after the Daytona 500, meaning that Appellants will have already suffered significant, ongoing irreparable harm, well before this Court has a chance to issue a decision."
