Judge gives favorable ruling to Cup teams as NASCAR lawsuit trial takes shape

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A key element of an argument NASCAR would’ve used at its December trial has been rendered moot by the court.

In other words: Tuesday marked an early — but nonetheless big — win for 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell granted the teams’ motion to define the relevant market as “premier stock car racing” and ruled that NASCAR is the only buyer for the services of “premier stock car racing teams.” NASCAR, thus, can no longer argue that the Cup teams have the option to compete in other racing series or own teams in other motorsports.

This makes NASCAR more vulnerable, in theory, to the Cup teams’ claims that NASCAR has illegally used its power to keep competition from sprouting in the U.S.

“A very high market share, which is durable, along with high barriers to entry is a well-established basis for a finding of monopolization,” Bell wrote Tuesday.

Bell added: “In sum, NASCAR plainly exercises monopsony power in the relevant market under the governing analysis. Not only has it operated the only premier stock car racing series in the United States for many years, the barriers for others to enter the market (availability of large racing tracks, highly qualified racing car teams, etc.) are obvious.

“Therefore, plaintiffs are entitled to summary judgment that NASCAR has monopsony power in the relevant market in partial support of its Section 2 Sherman Act claim.”

This ruling is a big splash as NASCAR and plaintiff teams 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports gear up for trial in Charlotte to punctuate a lawsuit in which 23XI and FRM assert that NASCAR is a monopoly. The two teams did so in October 2024.

23XI Racing is co-owned by sports icon Michael Jordan and Cup star Denny Hamlin. Front Row Motorsports is owned by Bob Jenkins. Their lead attorney, Jeffrey Kessler, wrote that he and his team “are very pleased with the court’s decision” Tuesday evening.

“Not only does it deny NASCAR’s motion for summary judgment, but it also grants our partial summary judgment motion, finding that NASCAR has monopoly power in a properly defined market,” Kessler wrote. “This means that the trial can now be focused on whether NASCAR has maintained that power through anticompetitive acts and used that power to harm teams.

“We’re prepared to present our case to the jury and are focused on obtaining a verdict that benefits all of the teams, partners, drivers and the fans.”

NASCAR also released a statement Tuesday.

“NASCAR looks forward to proving that it became the leading motorsport in the United States through hard work, risk-taking and many significant investments over the past 77 years,” NASCAR wrote. “The antitrust laws encourage this — and NASCAR has done nothing anticompetitive in building the sport from the ground up since 1948.

“While we respect the court’s decision, we believe it is legally flawed and we will address it at trial and in the Fourth Circuit if necessary. NASCAR believes in the charter system and will continue to defend it from 23XI and Front Row’s efforts to claim that the charter system itself is anticompetitive.”

Beyond Tuesday’s news, here’s a look at what else happened recently that has already given the trial shape — from who will be called to the witness stand, to which financial disclosures will be discussed, to the likelihood of a settlement.

Who is going to serve as witnesses in NASCAR trial?

The biggest news Tuesday was how the court was going to define the relevant market in the antitrust case, no doubt. Still, there were some pretrial motions that were intriguing and offered a glimpse as to what the trial in December in front of a jury in Charlotte could look like.

First things first: Witnesses.

Some of the biggest names in American stock car racing will be called to the witness stand if NASCAR and plaintiff Cup Series teams 23XI and FRM go to trial in December. That list includes Richard Childress, Heather Gibbs, Steve Newmark, Rob Kauffman and Roger Penske, according to one of several filings Monday.

It also includes Rick Hendrick — owner of the winningest team in Cup Series history Hendrick Motorsports, which is fresh off another Cup championship won by Kyle Larson on Sunday.

Financial disclosures: What does NASCAR make and spend each year?

Next up: Financial disclosures.

In recent filings, NASCAR wrote that the personal finances of the France family — the founding owners of NASCAR — should be off limits if the personal finances of Jordan, Hamlin and Jenkins remain undisclosed, too.

NASCAR argues that “such information is relevant and not unfairly prejudicial or confusing,” adding that the “plaintiffs’ one-sided approach to the evidence presented at trial should be rejected.”

But there will be other key recent financial disclosures brought to light in court. Many will come from the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Charter Agreement — which was recently unsealed and made publicly available for everyone.

Among the disclosures from the 2025 charter agreement:

— NASCAR’s financial statements from 2015-24, terms of the old charter agreement. The sanctioning body’s comprehensive net income was more than $537 million in 2023 — which included a major land sale — and $103 million in 2024.

— How much money goes to each race team on race day under the new charter agreement. The Cup championship at Phoenix Raceway, for instance, carried a total purse of $12,394,135. For the first time, the public saw how much that amounted to: The race winner gets 5.160% of the purse (approximately $639,516); second place gets 4.067% ($503,626) and so on. The last place car — 40th — gets 1.627% ($207,300), according to the charter document.

— How much teams earn based on their final position under the new charter agreement. In 2025, the No. 5 team won the owner’s championship (as well as the driver’s championship) and thus earned approximately $2.84 million from NASCAR. The fifth-place team earned approximately $2.12 million. The 36th-place (last-placed) team earned $48,000.

NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps provided context to these disclosures in his “state of the sport” annual news conference at Phoenix Raceway on Friday, two days after the 2025 charter agreement was released. He made clear that the financials are “not something we at NASCAR are hiding from,” adding that he encourages everyone to “really think about what you’re seeing and how it comes to life each weekend for fans, partners and race teams.”

“The 2025 charter agreement is an improvement on the 2016 framework with enhancements that reflect real progress for teams and the sport,” Phelps said. That includes “over $3 billion in guaranteed payments to the teams, enterprise value that is roughly $1.5 billion now to the race teams, guaranteed starting positions each week that allow teams to sell sponsorship on the best billboards in sports — the Next Gen car — and charters guaranteed for 14 years until at least 2039, plus an obligation to negotiate in good faith beyond that.”

Phelps added: “The bottom line here is NASCAR is committed to charters.”

Phelps went on to say that the charter system is a critical part of the sport — as race team owners and executives have stated — and that NASCAR will “continue to defend and preserve it.” He also clarified though that the sport of NASCAR is “more than just the Cup Series” — it’s two other national series as well as grassroots series.

“NASCAR’s balance sheet has more than $1.2 billion in invested capital, meaning the vast majority of what we make is invested back into the sport, our race teams and our people,” Phelps said. He added that “teams receive about $1.1 billion per year from their sponsors and from NASCAR combined.”

We believe our charters are fair and equitable,” Phelps said. “We did our best to support the race teams without destabilizing our sport and compromising our ability to deliver for fans well into the future.”

Will NASCAR settle with 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports before trial?

Both sides have previously publicly stated their desires to settle prior to the December trial. A report in The Athletic said that a settlement could’ve been announced as early as last week — shortly after a two-day judicial settlement conference that nearly availed a resolution, the report said.

Phelps went on record last week — again — to state that it is NASCAR’s goal to resolve the case before trial.

“NASCAR is fully aligned with our race team partners who have submitted declarations hoping to end this litigation,” Phelps said. “We are trying our hardest. I am trying my hardest both as a fan as well as the commissioner of this sport that I’ve loved since I was 5 years old.

“While two of the teams of 15 teams may not share that view, and seem set on an unfortunate court battle, I hope that we can all agree that our racing is as good as it has ever been, and we care about how we serve our fans.”