NASCAR states that there “are many eager potential entrants” who want to obtain Cup charters and cite that as among reasons why a judge should not grant 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports a preliminary injunction to receive benefits of a charter team for the rest of the season.
Denying the preliminary injunction could allow NASCAR to begin the process of selling the six available charters 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports claim they have a right to.
An Aug. 28 hearing is scheduled on a request by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports to be granted a preliminary injunction so they receive the benefits of a charter team despite not signing the charter agreement last year.
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The lawsuit by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports against NASCAR is scheduled to go to trial Dec. 1.
In court documents late Monday, NASCAR noted that with the trial expected to last two to three weeks, it would prove difficult for some groups that purchased the charters after the trial to be ready for the start of the season.
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NASCAR also noted that 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports each acquired a charter from Stewart-Haas Racing last year. Should NASCAR win the trial and those charters be available for reissue, those charters would be subject to a 30-day bidding process open to qualified existing charter holders.
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Also in the court documents, NASCAR noted:
— In the 2016 charters, NASCAR increased annual payments to teams by 28% on average over the pre-charter period.
— In the 2025 charters, NASCAR increased those payments by another 62% for the 2025-2031 period.
— NASCAR pays a higher percentage of its operating income to charter teams than Formula 1 pays to its teams.
— NBC Sports —
AND: The Sanctioning Body stated on Monday that it is not a Stock Car monopoly because teams are allowed to race in the CARS Tour, a Late Model touring series in the Carolinas owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick and Justin Marks.
That isn’t all as the legal response from NASCAR adds:
“In addition to the long list of exceptions, which include every major known racing organization and sanctioning body in North America, the Goodwill Provisions in the 2016 and 2025 Charters also allow Team Owners to seek NASCAR’s approval to race in other series.”
To that point, NASCAR says 23XI and Front Row has never even asked to race anywhere else concurrent to the Cup Series. Further, ‘NASCAR has never withheld approval from any Charter holder (including direct and indirect Team Owners, as defined by the 2016 and 2025 Charters) to race in any other stock car series or any other racing series.’
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It is also NASCAR’s position that the court cannot force the Sanctioning Body to do business with parties they do not want to. And every written and oral indication from NASCAR over the past 14 months is that they no longer want to do business with teams that are suing them.
Thus, NASCAR is fielding inquiries from other organizations that want to race as chartered Cup Series teams next season and are asking the court not to issue an injunction because 23XI and Front Row have no legal rights over charters they never agreed to terms over and thus forfeit on December 31.
— Sporting News —