Denny Hamlin vows 23XI Racing will go on, answers will come in December in court battle with NASCAR
A federal judge on Thursday rejected a request from 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports to continue racing with charters while they battle NASCAR in court, meaning their six cars will race as open entries this weekend at Dover, next week at Indianapolis and perhaps longer than that in a move the teams say would put them at risk of going out of business.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell denied the teams' bid for a temporary restraining order, saying they will make races over the next couple of weeks and they won't lose their drivers or sponsors before his decision on a preliminary injunction.
Bell left open the possibility of reconsidering his decision if things change over the next two weeks.
After this weekend, the cars affected may need to qualify on speed if 41 entries are listed — a possibility now that starting spots have opened.
The case has a Dec. 1 trial date, but the two teams are fighting to be recognized as chartered for the current season, which has 16 races left. A charter guarantees one of the 40 spots in the field each week, but also a base amount of money paid out each week.
'If you want answers, you want to understand why all this is happening, come Dec. 1, you'll get the answers that you're looking for,' Hamlin said Saturday at Dover Motor Speedway. 'All will be exposed.'
23XI, which is co-owned by retired NBA great Michael Jordan, and FRM filed their federal suit against NASCAR last year after they were the only two organizations out of 15 to reject NASCAR's extension offer on charters.
Jordan and FRM owner Bob Jenkins won an injunction to recognize 23XI and FRM as chartered for the season, but the ruling was overturned on appeal earlier this month, sending the case back to Bell.
Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 winner driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, co-owns 23XI with Jordan and said they were prepared to send Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace and Riley Herbst to the track each week as open teams. They sought the restraining order Monday, claiming that through discovery they learned NASCAR planned to immediately begin the process of selling the six charters which would put 'plaintiffs in irreparable jeopardy of never getting their charters back and going out of business.'
Hamlin said none of the setbacks have made him second-guess the decision to file the lawsuit.
'Dec. 1 is all that matters. Mark your calendar,' Hamlin said. 'I'd love to be doing other things. I've got a lot going on. When I get in the car (today), nothing else is going to matter other than that. I always give my team 100%. I always prepare whether I have side jobs, side hustles, more kids, that all matters, but I always give my team all the time that they need to make sure that when I step in, I'm 100% committed.'
Reddick, who has a clause that allows him to become a free agent if the team loses its charter, declined comment Saturday on all questions connected to his future and the lawsuit. Hamlin also declined to comment on Reddick's future with 23XI Racing.
Reddick, one of four drivers left in NASCAR's $1 million In-season Challenge, was last year's regular-season champion and raced for the Cup Series championship in the season finale. But none of the six drivers affected by the court ruling are locked into this year's playoffs.
Making the field won't be an issue this weekend at Dover as fewer than the maximum 40 cars are entered. But should 41 cars show up anywhere this season, someone slow will be sent home and that means lost revenue and a lost chance to win points in the standings.
'Nothing changes from my end, obviously, and nothing changes from inside the shop,' Front Row Motorsports driver Zane Smith said. 'There's not typically even enough cars to worry about transferring in.'
Smith, 24th in the standings and someone who would likely need a win to qualify for NASCAR's playoffs, said he stood behind Jenkins in his acrimonious legal fight that has loomed over the stock car series for months.
'I leave all that up to them," Smith said, "but my job is to go get the 38 the best finish I can.'
AP Auto Racing Writer Jenna Fryer contributed to this story.
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