After more than a year of legal red tape and several heated back-and-forth arguments between the two opposing sides, the lawsuit brought against the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) in October 2024 (by teams 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports) has made it to trial.
The two opposing sides will spend the better part of the next two weeks in a courtroom in Charlotte, North Carolina, as a jury decides whether NASCAR is using its monopolistic power illegally and damaging the financial stability of teams competing in the NASCAR Cup Series.
In-court sessions will begin Monday, December 1 with jury selection and opening statements, and will last for a total of 10 in-court days spanning the next two weeks – the final day scheduled to be December 12.
The majority of NASCAR’s media members are on-site in Charlotte to hear the details of the trial, and stand witness to what could be an explosive trial. With no electronic devices permitted in the courtroom, updates will come during court breaks.
Racing America on SI will have live updates from the trial as they become available. Our editor-in-chief, Toby Christie, will also be on site.
Hamlin’s Tuesday Testimony Lasts Four Hours
NASCAR Claims Lawsuit Was Plan of Polk, 23XI All Along
Hamlin Emotional in Monday Testimony During NASCAR Antitrust Lawsuit
NASCAR, Teams Present Opening Statements
Hamlin, Polk Barred From Courtroom Until After Testimony
Judge Bell Upset With Opening Statements from Both Sides
Jury Selected for NASCAR v. 23XI/FRM Antitrust Case
Potential Witness List Revealed for NASCAR Antitrust Trial
Hamlin’s Tuesday Testimony Lasts Four Hours
By: Joseph Srigley – Tuesday, December 2nd
Denny Hamlin, co-owner of 23XI Racing, continued his testimony in federal court on Tuesday morning, with NASCAR getting the opportunity to cross-examine the Chesterfield, Virginia-native for the first time in this case.
Lawrence Buterman, a member of NASCAR’s legal council, led the charge on the cross-examination and notably asked Hamlin about whether the public could trust what he’s saying, considering he’s been quoted using NASCAR talking points in the past.
That seemed to be a major part of NASCAR’s strategy when interrogating Hamlin, referring specifically to an appearance he made on the Kenny Wallace Podcast, where he praised the NextGen car as being great for the sport, and had similar comments about NASCAR’s planned trip to Mexico City in the Summer of 2025.
Hamlin quickly clapped back at NASCAR’s council in a feisty manner, a demeanor that several onlookers say the 44-year-old driver maintained throughout the entire three-plus hour testimony, but what he had to say, was even more interesting.
“Because, if I say anything bad, I get a lashing from NASCAR,” Hamlin said about his positive comments on the Kenny Wallace Podcast. “So, publicly, it’s all sunshine and rainbows. My job is to take the talking points NASCAR says to him [Wallace] and say them publicly. If he says anything bad, he gets a phone call from NASCAR.”
That was just one piece of the wide-spanning testimony that was given on Tuesday by the 60-time race-winner in the NASCAR Cup Series, which included several financial figures, both involving 23XI Racing and himself.
23XI Racing, owned by Hamlin, Curtis Polk, and Michael Jordan, is one of the few NASCAR Cup Series teams that are currently operating in the black, according to financial documents made available prior to the start of the trial. The team, which fields three NASCAR Cup Series entries has a profit margin of 2.26%, but Hamlin maintains that considering the $40 million of sponsorship they bring in, that isn’t substantial, at all.
“I’m one sponsor away,” Hamlin said. “All it takes is one to go away, and all of the profit is gone.”
As the collective losses of NASCAR Cup Series teams increases year-over-year, Hamlin suggests that could partly be due to the new media rights agreement. With sponsors wanting to be seen on television, a move towards streaming and away from network television limits their exposure with a drop in ratings, which makes companies less willing to spend money.
The teams have brought their concerns to NASCAR, and Steve Phelps, the Commissioner of NASCAR, promised a paradigm shift, but nothing like that materialized at all, Hamlin claimed during his testimony.
Hamlin has spent the last two decades making a career for himself in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing. However, as his days of being a full-time driver continue to wind down, the 44-year-old is more than aware that his legacy for the next couple of decades likely lies within the walls of Airspeed, explaining that the reason he didn’t sign this Charter Agreement was because “this is his death certificate.”
“It’s time for change,” Hamlin said. “I’ve spent 20 years trying to change this sport and grow it further.”
Hamlin specifically mentions a meeting that he had with Jim France, CEO of NASCAR, in a Nashville hotel, where he left feeling “very discouraged” about the state of negotiations. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver says that France believes the issue lies within the teams overspending, and that he would like it if costs could be cut down to $10 million per entry… a mark which Hamlin thinks is unrealistic, considering it would involve cutting spending in half.
Another part of Tuesday’s testimony included an attempt by the defendants to paint the picture of reckless spending at 23XI Racing under the guise of Denny Hamlin, between a $35 million race shop and an extravagant holiday party in 2021, in which the team spent 17% of their operating budget.
NASCAR Claims Lawsuit Was Plan of Polk, 23XI All Along
By: Joseph Srigley – Monday, December 1st
In the first day of the NASCAR v. 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports antitrust lawsuit in Charlotte, North Carolina, NASCAR continued to hold firm in the stance they’ve had since the complaint was first filed last October.
John E. Stephenson, Jr. made that clear very quickly when delivering NASCAR’s opening statements on Monday, asking the jury a simple question: “Why are we here?”
READ MORE: NASCAR Claims Lawsuit Was ‘Curtis Polk and 23XI’s Plan From The Start’
The first of 10 scheduled days of this trial included jury selection (where six jurors and three alternates were selected out of a pool of potential candidates), opening statements were heard from both sides, and the first part of testimony from Denny Hamlin, one of three co-owners of 23XI Racing.
After all of that came to a natural stopping point, around 5:00 pm local time, Judge Bell dismissed both parties and all the interested onlookers, and both went their separate ways without making any comments, whatsoever. About 90 minutes later, though, NASCAR broke its silence and made its stance known following an eight-hour day in court.
However, one of the last talking points or observations from NASCAR’s side on Monday is a bit jarring. Seemingly answering the question posed in their opening statement, the sanctioning body believes that they are here, in this antitrust lawsuit because this was the plan of Curtis Polk and 23XI Racing all along… and that’s the reason why this has all played out to this point.
“It’s important to talk about the truth in this trial, so let’s do that – this lawsuit was Curtis Polk and 23XI Racing’s plan from the start. That’s why we are here today.”
Hamlin Emotional in Monday Testimony During NASCAR Antitrust Lawsuit
By: Toby Christie – Monday, December 1
At the end of the first day of NASCAR’s antitrust lawsuit, brought against them by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, Denny Hamlin was called to the stand as the first witness to give testimony in the trial.
In the opening moments of said testimony, which concluded around 5:00 PM ET and will resume when the court’s recess lifts at 9:00 AM ET, the 60-time NASCAR Cup Series race-winner showed lots of emotion when the topic came up of how he made it to the NASCAR Cup Series.
As Hamlin relived his time climbing through the lower levels of racing on his path to NASCAR, he was overcome with emotion when thinking of his father, who has undergone struggles with his health recently. After a few moments, Hamlin was able to compose himself and finish out the first part of his testimony, where he explained to the jury who he was and ins and outs of NASCAR and how the Charter System works for NASCAR team owners.
READ MORE: Hamlin Emotional in Testimony on Day 1 of Antitrust Lawsuit Against NASCAR
While the only evidence that had been shown all afternoon came courtesy of three charter sales, where 23XI Racing purchased charters from Germain Racing (2020), StarCom Racing (2021), and Stewart-Haas Racing (2024), things didn’t remain entirely civil on Hamlin’s side, as he bashed NASCAR for poaching sponsorship from teams.
Hamlin explained to the jury that NASCAR’s taking Germain Racing’s primary sponsor, GEICO, led to the team folding its operations, which was the only reason that the charter was even available in the first place to get the organization into the NASCAR Cup Series.
Other nuggets were revealed throughout the afternoon including that 23XI Racing pays an annual $8 million to Joe Gibbs Racing for a technical alliance which supports the three-car NASCAR Cup Series program.
NASCAR, Teams Present Opening Statements
By: Joseph Srigley – Monday, December 1st
Both sides of this lawsuit were allowed to present their opening statements on Monday afternoon.
23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports asserted in their opening statement that the evidence they hold would show that NASCAR engaged in anti-competitive behaviour while negotiating and theorizing the Charter Agreement.
On the other hand, NASCAR says that the teams only brought up the anti-trust charges after the talks had concluded, and that the actions of both 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports have signaled that the teams have benefited from the Charter Agreement.
Claire B Lang reports that Judge Bell was quoted telling the six jurors on the panel for this case to keep an open mind when the evidence does start coming in — throughout two and a half hours of opening remarks, there has been no evidence presented yet.
Hamlin, Polk Barred From Courtroom Until After Testimony
By: Joseph Srigley – Monday, December 1st
Judge Kenneth Bell confirmed on Monday afternoon that both Denny Hamlin and Curtis Polk (co-owners of 23XI Racing alongside Michael Jordan) will not be allowed to be in the courtroom until their testimony has been heard, a decision that Bell says he made “very reluctantly”.
This decision was made in hopes of “only trying this case once”, according to Bell, with NASCAR invoking a rule about having just a single corporate representative for each side (which in this case, is NBA superstar Michael Jordan). The main reason for this, is so that no technicality is brought up that would throw this case sideways in the event of an appeal from the losing party.
Hamlin and Polk will be present for Monday’s opening statements and then will leave the courtroom until their testimonies are heard. No date has been set for those testimonies, yet.
Judge Bell Upset With Opening Statements from Both Sides
By: Joseph Srigley – Monday, December 1st
It did not take long for the sparks to fly in the courtroom in the NASCAR v. 23XI/FRM antitrust lawsuit, but I don’t think anybody expected the frustration to come from the bench. After reviewing opening statements on Monday, Judge Kenneth Bell wasn’t happy with either side.
Bell stated that both opening statements – the one from NASCAR and the one from 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports – featured arguments that were impermissible, and as a result, he has chosen to ban the presentation of exhibits during their statements.
“If we can be less confrontational about it next time, maybe you’ll get to do what you want to do,” Bell was quoted as saying.
Jury Selected for NASCAR v. 23XI/FRM Antitrust Case
By: Joseph Srigley – Monday, December 1
The first step of this antitrust case when both parties arrived at court on Monday was to select the jurors who would ultimately decide on this case. The final panel of jurors included six jury members and three backups.
According to Matt Weaver of Motorsport, the candidate pool was notably asked (among other questions) whether they were familiar with Michael Jordan and if they had any strong opinions about him, one way or the other. Jordan, an NBA Hall of Famer, is a major part of this case as the majority owner of 23XI Racing.
There was one candidate that did, in fact, have some pretty strong feelings about Jordan, and after being dismissed from his duty as a potential juror, made a fist pump gesture at the NASCAR Cup Series team owner, which not only garnered a chuckle from Jorda, but from everybody involved.
Candidates were dismissed for a variety of reasons; including one that worked at Hendrick Automotive Group, one that knew a great deal about NASCAR and all of the parties involved. There was a third juror dismissed because he couldn’t hear the judge and needed to get his hearing aid fixed.
Johnny Stephenson of Alson & Bird is now the arguing attorney for NASCAR, and spent the morning introducing himself to Judge Bell.
Potential Witness List Revealed for NASCAR Antitrust Trial
Jim France
Timothy Frost
Heather Gibbs
Denny Hamlin
Brian Herbst
Bob Jenkins
Lesa France Kennedy
Michael Jordan
Jonathan Marshall
Steve Newmark
Steve O’Donnell
Steve Phelps
Curtis Polk
Scott Prime
Daniel Rascher
Anthony Smith
Edward Snyder
Jordan Bazant
Tim Clark
Rick Hendrick
Ron Drager
Jerry Freeze
Rob Kauffman
Ben Kennedy
Steve Lauletta
Gene Mason
Gene Mato
Roger Penske
John Probst
Cal Wells III
Edwin Desser
Kevin Murphy
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