The antitrust lawsuit presented by 23XI and Front Row against NASCAR and countersuit centres around whether or not the teams should be recognised as chartered amid allegations that NASCAR has monopolised stock car racing.
Thursday’s hearing (local time) allowed the parties to air their grievances ahead of a preliminary injunction to prevent NASCAR from selling the charters.
In court, the hearing revealed the true level of hostility between the parties after emails and text messages were publicised for the first time.
The fact discovery process allowed both sides of the lawsuit to request documents or communications that pertain to the court case brought by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports against NASCAR. That includes the two teams and NASCAR itself, as well as relevant third parties.
What it revealed and wound up with was a mudslinging match between 23XI, Front Row, and NASCAR.
NASCAR presented to the court a series of disparaging texts, including one from 23XI team president Steve Lauletta who wrote to 23XI co-owner Denny Hamlin: “I wish I knew what to do and what is the best investment path. Being in for the long haul and Jim dying is probably the answer.”
Denny Hamlin said he was “In for the fight with NASCAR” and “My despise of the France family runs deep.”
The governing body presented a series of texts between Michael Jordan and his business manager Chris Polk, another 23XI co-owner, after the latter revealed eponymous NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs had signed the NASCAR charter agreement.
“I think people understand our fight,” Jordan wrote. “Good things will come from this. Teams are going to regret not supporting us.”
Jordan labelled the teams “pussies” for not backing their crusade.
NASCAR is owned by the France family, with founder Bill France Sr.’s son, Jim France, the current chairman. Lesa France Kennedy, his granddaughter, is NASCAR’s executive vice chair.
The plaintiffs presented their own evidence against NASCAR, with messages from executive vice chairwoman Lesa France-Kennedy, CEO Jim France, EVP chief strategy officer Scott Prime, president Steve O’Donnell and commissioner Steve Phelps.
France-Kennedy labelled an April meeting in 2024 “productive” but that the “teams won’t get everything they want” and could reach a middle ground, to which Phelps replied: “Productive? Insanity. Look at the Amanda chart – zero wins for the teams.”
The Amanda chart is an internal document that NASCAR used to detail agreements as far as who would stand to benefit the most from any given deal.
Phelps continued: “The draft must reflect a middle position of we are dead in the water – they will sign them but we are fucked moving forward.”
Prime said: “The approach of ‘here is a bit more money, fuck off everywhere else’ is a bold strategy”
O’Donnell weighed in: “And one that Lesa said both Mike (Helton) and Gary (Crotty) thought is getting us close. Close to a comfortable 1996, fuck the teams, dictatorship, motorsport, redneck, southern, tiny sport.”
Before Thursday’s hearing, 23XI and Front Row had labelled the previously unseen communication a “smoking gun” and argued on Thursday that the messages were evidence that NASCAR is monopolising stock car racing.
Jordan made a brief statement to the media after the hearing, in which he vowed to continue the fight.
“Look, I’ve been a fan of the game for a long period of time,” Jordan said.
“When we first started this whole process I’ve always said I want to fight for the betterment of the sport.
“Even though they tried to point out that we’ve made some money, we had a successful business.
“That’s not the point. The point is that the sport itself needs to continually change for the fans as well as for the teams.
“As well as for NASCAR, too, if they understand that.
“I feel like we made a good statement today about that and I look forward to going down with fire. If I have to fight this to the end, for the betterment of the sport, I will do that.”
My lawyers said don’t tweet. So this is me not doing that.
Hope everyone had a great day!
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) August 28, 2025
All of this overshadowed the purpose of Thursday’s meeting, which was to argue whether or not the teams should be granted de facto chartered status, resumption of payouts to the teams as if they were chartered teams, and NASCAR preventing transfer of the charters.
The plaintiffs want a preliminary injunction to prevent NASCAR from selling its former charters. NASCAR has maintained that 23XI and Front Row lose rights to their three charters apiece after refusing to sign the agreement as the other teams did.
The governing body is eager to sell off the charters to interested parties. It says that if it does not sell the charters soon then there are negative implications on the 2026 season.
The judge is set to rule on that request to sell the charters next week after the first race of the Playoffs at Darlington.
A trial is scheduled for December 1, which judge Kenneth Bell said could have serious ramifications for either side.
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