CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A top NASCAR executive returns to the stand Wednesday for a second day of testimony in the explosive antitrust case that accuses the top motorsports series in the United States of being a monopolistic bully in violation of federal antitrust laws.
NASCAR is being sued by 23XI Racing, owned by Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and Front Row Motorsports, which is owned by fast-food franchiser Bob Jenkins. They were the only two organizations out of 15 to refuse to sign agreements last year on new charters, which are NASCAR’s version of the franchise model used in other sports.
Front Row and 23XI contend that NASCAR is a monopoly that has handcuffed teams with a no-win revenue model. The charter agreement that took effect this year ended more than two years of bitter negotiations in which neither side budged until NASCAR presented its final offer on the eve of the 2024 playoffs and refused to negotiate any further.
The deal fell short of the requests made by all 15 teams, but 13 teams still signed under the belief they’d lose their protected status as a charter — which guarantees both entry into every race and a defined share of the purse.
The second day of testimony on Tuesday — which included nearly three hours from Hamlin — turned to Scott Prime, NASCAR executive vice president in charge of strategy. Jeffrey Kessler, attorney for 23XI and Front Row, used Prime’s memos and private communications to attempt to show anticompetitive practices.
Among the exhibits shown was NASCAR’s fear of a rival stock-car series developing that would resemble the LIV golf league. To stop such a move, communications showed NASCAR executives tried to lock the tracks it competes on into exclusivity clauses that would prohibit them from hosting other events.
Kessler showed an agreement with Las Vegas Motor Speedway in which NASCAR implemented a clause in which the track could not host a rival stock car series for two years after its deal with NASCAR expires.
Kessler also showed communications between Prime, NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps and NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell in which the three expressed frustration with NASCAR chairman Jim France and vice chair Lesa France Kennedy because the owners of the series refused to offer any concessions in negotiations.
Phelps wrote the current proposal at that time showed “zero wins for the teams,