23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports File Preliminary Injunction; Hearing Date Set
23XI Racing (23XI) and Front Row Motorsports (FRM) have filed a preliminary injunction in their antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR, asking to be permitted to compete in the NASCAR Cup Series as chartered teams in 2025, despite not signing the charter agreement presented in early September.
In a joint statement released October 9, 23XI and FRM said: "The 23XI and Front Row Motorsports teams are fully committed to competing in next year's Cup Series. Today's procedural filing is the next step in advancing our case against NASCAR and their monopolistic practices while protecting our drivers, race teams, and sponsors by establishing our legal right to run in 2025."
Additionally, the organizations have filed a motion for expedited discovery, asking the courts to give the team's legal counsel immediate access to documents and files from key NASCAR executives (Jim France, Lesa France Kennedy, Ben Kennedy, Steve O'Donnell, Steve Phelps, and Scott Prime).
These procedural motions follow 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports jointly filing an antitrust lawsuit in the Western District of North Carolina on October 2, 2024, against NASCAR and its CEO Jim France.
Some key components of discovery that 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are seeking from NASCAR include documents discussing the mandatory release provision in the charter agreement, documents discussing NASCAR's decision to stop negotiating with the Team Negotiating Committee and only with individual teams, and documents discussing NASCAR's decision to present teams a take-it-or-leave-it final proposal.
"NASCAR's dominant control over racing is not because of superior skill or business acumen, but rather its history of exclusionary acts and restrictive agreements that have stifled competition through its monopoly power," said Jeffrey Kessler, lead counsel for 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports. "We believe our expedited discovery requests of NASCAR and the France family will shed light on their anticompetitive practices and support a preliminary injunction ruling that 23XI and Front Row Motorsports have a legally protected right to race next year while our antitrust case proceeds in Court."
The two organizations are also seeking documents surrounding NASCARs exclusive or restrictive contracts with independently owned racetracks that have hosted Cup Series events since 2016, acquisitions of the International Speedway Corporation (ISC) and Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA), and the charter provisions that restrict teams from competing in non-NASCAR events and using NextGen parts and cars in non-NASCAR events.
In the court filings, Bob Jenkins, owner of Front Row Motorsports, said: "Because of our love for the sport and our determination to maintain the race team we have built, we are determined to race next year even if we have to do so on an "open" basis, but at some point, the losses may become so severe that we simply cannot continue."
NASCAR, in another October 9 court filing, says that it will be opposing preliminary injunction from 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports. The sanctioning body says that there is no irreparable harm to the teams, since they've both stated they will run as open entries should they lose the motion, and therefore, any monetary damages could compensate the teams if they ultimately prevail.
The hearing for the preliminary injunction (originally set for October 16) has now been moved to Monday, November 4 in federal court in Charlotte. Despite the change in hearing date, NASCAR still must respond to the team' motion for the injunction by next Wednesday.
