NASCAR teams 23XI and Front Row seek urgent court order to retain charters
23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are locked in a lengthy legal battle over the charter system, which is the equivalent of the franchise model in other sports. 23XI, owned by retired NBA great Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and Front Row, owned by entrepreneur Bob Jenkins, last September rejected NASCAR's final proposal on extensions and instead filed an antitrust suit.
The case is winding its way through the court system but now with urgency: the teams are set to lose their charters Wednesday and in the latest filing, they allege NASCAR has indicated it will immediately begin the process of selling the six tags that guarantee entry into every race as well as monetary rewards and other benefits.
Should the teams have their six combined charters revoked, the drivers would have to qualify on speed to make each week's race and would receive a smaller percentage of the purse. They may also have to refund money paid out through the first 20 races of the year.
NASCAR accused 23XI and Front Row of filing 'a third motion for another unnecessary and inappropriate preliminary injunction' and noted it has made multiple requests to the teams 'to present a proposal to resolve this litigation.
'We have yet to receive a proposal from 23XI or Front Row, as they have instead preferred to continue their damaging and distracting lawsuit,' NASCAR said in a statement. 'We will defend NASCAR's integrity from this baseless lawsuit forced upon the sport that threatens to divide the stakeholders committed to serving race fans everywhere.
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'We remain focused on collaborating with the 13 race teams that signed the 2025 charter agreements and share our mutual goal of delivering the best racing in the world each week, including this weekend in Dover.'
Later Monday, Rick Ware Racing and Legacy Motor Club had a scheduled court date in North Carolina over their fight for a charter. Legacy, owned by seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson, contends it had an agreement with RWR to lease one of its two charters in 2026.
RWR contends the agreement was for 2027 and it already has a contract with RFK Racing to lease that team a charter next season.
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NASCAR teams 23XI and Front Row seek urgent court order to retain charters
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