“It scares me to death”

Federal Judge Kenneth Bell expressed deep concern over the escalating conflict between Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports, and NASCAR. He urged both sides to settle out of court to avoid costly and damaging litigation.

The federal antitrust lawsuit between NASCAR and its two teams, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, over the sport’s charter agreements unfairly restricting competition by binding teams to the series, tracks and suppliers. This would create a monopoly that would deprive teams of a fair share of revenue and operational independence. The lawsuit claimed that NASCAR violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by forcing teams into “take-it-or-leave-it” deals, leaving them with no viable alternative for premier stock car racing in the United States.

Tensions escalated when NASCAR filed a countersuit, which targeted Michael Jordan’s business manager, Curtis Polk, for allegedly orchestrating anticompetitive collective bargaining among teams, including threats of race boycotts and refusal to negotiate individually. This caused a legal setback for the teams as a federal appellate panel vacated an injunction that would require NASCAR to recognize 23XI and FRM as chartered teams.

Kenneth Bell said during a hearing on Tuesday, via APNews:

“It’s hard to picture a winner if this goes to the mat — or to the flag — in this case. It scares me to death to think about what all this is costing.”

The judge has set a timeline for the case, including discovery and mediation deadlines, but court sessions have focused on motions to dismiss NASCAR’s countersuit and the teams’ attempts to regain their charter status. Both sides are due in court later this month.

Michael Jordan’s 23XI attorney speaks out on team’s expectations from NASCAR

Attorney Jeffrey Kessler, representing Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, has outlined the teams’ key expectations in their ongoing antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR. The teams seek to eliminate what they allege are monopolistic practices, particularly restrictions that prevent Cup tracks from hosting other racing series and teams from participating in non-NASCAR events with their Next Gen cars.

Kessler mentioned that one possible remedy could be the divestiture of NASCAR’s commercial interests from its racetrack operations, as well as the removal of rules that limit teams’ competitive and commercial freedom.

“As I noted to the Judge (Kenneth Bell), there’s a lot of reliefs that is well-known in the antitrust laws. One of which is divestiture, which would be the separate running of NASCAR and the commercial terms from the tracks. That’s a possibility.”

“Another one is getting rid of all these restrictions that stopped the tracks from having competing in events… stopped the teams from racing in other events, stopped the teams from using their Next-Gen cars in other events,” he added.

The teams are seeking a rehearing from the appeals court to reinstate the injunction, with a decision expected soon. Meanwhile, the trial is set for December.