The ongoing charter lawsuit isn’t just about one core issue. It’s about some major problems in the sport, with one of them being why NASCAR doesn’t make the charters permanent. The reason they’re temporary currently is that NASCAR likes to review and renew them on its own to monitor everything and maintain the competitive balance the way they like. But except for them, everyone in the garage wants the opposite.
Thanks to the lawsuit, this topic was brought up in the court, when the CEO of the sport, Jim France, himself had to come into the stands to give his testimony. He justified his decision, and the roots for that mindset go back to some old-school teaching he got from his folks.
ADVERTISEMENT
Jim France on following his parents’ advice in business dealings
Teams have pushed for permanent Charters for a long time. Making them permanent would increase the Charters’ resale values, give them more financial security, and more stability. At the same time, however, it would mean that NASCAR might lose control over the Charter negotiations and the policies they design.
This could also mean that the sport simply fails to play around with the Charter Agreement, which might hamper NASCAR’s profits. Undertstandably, this is one of the reasons why the sport has not agreed to this with teams yet. And Jim France doesn’t want to make a fake promise.
“I’ve just seen so much change over the years and things are changing at a fast pace and I don’t know how to put something in place — I don’t know how we could come to an agreement that covers forever,” he told the court. “I don’t have a sightline for the future and I don’t feel comfortable making a promise I can’t keep forever.”
ADVERTISEMENT
France then discussed his parents’ teachings in his business dealings, claiming that his mother always taught him to pay his bills. More interestingly, he further mentioned that his deceased father, Bill France Sr., taught him to “do what you say you’re going to do.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports
Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports
While this does sound like strong advice for someone getting into business, the teams haven’t been very satisfied with Jim France’s decision. His father, Bill France Sr., laid the foundation for NASCAR and managed it for a long time. Since then, the France family has largely been in control of the sport. But this ownership is often questioned.
Many claim that Jim France can solely make decisions for maximum profits, whilst leaving the teams in losses. This has also raised doubts among teams. They claim that the current revenue-sharing system is unsustainable; moreover, the increase in running costs has not seen a significant revenue increase in the Charter Agreement. This was the primary reason why the lawsuit was filed.
Previously publicized text messages have also revealed that Jim France was not interested in making the Charters permanent. However, there is more that the sport’s authorities were accused of in the NASCAR lawsuit.
ADVERTISEMENT
Jim France accused of making profits as teams suffered losses
23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports filed the lawsuit against NASCAR. As the trial progresses, there have been new and surprising revelations, including Jim France’s bold statement on his business model.
However, that is not all. There have been quite a few strong statements from the plaintiffs as well. The NASCAR lawsuit focuses on alleged monopolistic policies from the sport, mainly discussing the Charters. In the initial days of the hearing, Jeffrey Kessler, representing 23XI, claimed that the France Family had been making profits at the teams’ expense.
ADVERTISEMENT
“What the evidence is going to show is Mr France ran this for the benefit of his family at the expense of the teams and sport,” he told the court.
As per the Charter Agreement, it was understood that the teams wanted a larger share of NASCAR’s broadcasting revenue. However, then-President Steve Phelps claimed that the sport would have then run in losses.
ADVERTISEMENT
The air around the lawsuit seems to be a bit unclear at the moment. But the statement from Jim France regarding the permanent Charters does reveal that he has never been in favor of the same. But could the lawsuit change that?

As the NASCAR trial goes through its second week, eye-opening testimonies are unfolding. 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports’ witnesses have so far created a stir in the courtroom, revealing figures of severe economic loss to teams and team owners. NASCAR, in its part, roped in the big guns like CEO Jim France to the stand. Their second high-profile witness, however, was unable to attend.
NASCAR trial loses a trump card
“After the jury dismissed for lunch, Judge Bell oversaw a dispute between Jeffrey Kessler (teams) and Chris Yates (NASCAR.) Yates wanted to introduce testimony from FOX Sports’ Jordan Bazant that showed a competitor series would hurt NASCAR. Judge Bell wasn’t sure that needed to be presented to the jury because it’s not additive to the dispute at hand. Judge Bell also says that if there was a competitor series in this hypothetical, the teams would be in it, and not NASCAR. So he ruled against allowing it,” Journalist Matt Weaver wrote on X.
ADVERTISEMENT
NASCAR wished to rope in the testimony of FOX Sports, the media giant associated with the sport for over two decades. According to NASCAR attorney Lawrence Buterman, chartered teams also get money from FOX – hence, teams are also hurt alongside the sport. However, Judge Kenneth D. Bell still dismissed the witness for the NASCAR trial, claiming that FOX may pay NASCAR less if a rival series springs up. He logged NASCAR’s motion for an appeal to the Fourth Circuit of Appeals in Richmond.
This comes as a significant development after CEO Jim France’s stolid appearance in the witness stand. The topmost NASCAR executive was like a “brick wall,” according to a few journalists. refusing to divulge much information as attorney Jeffrey Kessler grilled him. Contrary to the jaw-dropping evidence that Michael Jordan and Co.’s witnesses brought out, France’s testimony likely did not strike a deeper chord.
ADVERTISEMENT

His mother, credited with helping her husband build NASCAR from nothing, told her two sons to always pay their bills. Bill France Sr. advised them “do what you say you’re going to do.”
It was those two principles that created France’s refusal to budge on permanent charters in the 2025 revenue-sharing agreement.
“I’ve just seen so much change over the years and things are changing at a fast pace and I don’t know how to put something in place — I don’t know how we could come to an agreement that covers forever,” he testified.
He later tied it directly to his parents’ advice.
“I don’t have a sightline for the future and I don’t feel comfortable making a promise I can’t keep forever,” he testified.
That thinking aligns with Tuesday testimony from NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps, who gave NASCAR’s version of the chaotic Sept. 6, 2024, final agreements presented to teams late that Friday afternoon with an end-of-day deadline to sign the 112-page document or forfeit their charters.
Phelps testified the delay in sending the final drafts was because France had promised Roger Penske, owner of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar, and teams in multiple racing series including NASCAR, that France would personally speak to Penske before the agreements were delivered. France tried to call Penske several times that day and Phelps testified Penske didn’t answer.
It wasn’t until after the two had finally spoken that the charters were sent to teams, at close to 5 p.m. with a midnight deadline.
“Jim is a man of his word,” Phelps testified.
23XI Racing, which is owned by basketball Hall of Famer Jordan, three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and Jordan’s financial adviser, Curtis Polk, and Front Row Motorsports, owned by Bob Jenkins, were the only two teams out of 15 organizations that refused to sign. They sued instead.
Multiple team owners have described that day on the opening weekend of the 2024 playoffs as an ultimatum from NASCAR as they found the offers to be a “take-it-or-leave-it” offer that they signed with “a gun to their head.” Hall of Fame team owner Richard Childress testified Tuesday his team would have gone out of business if he didn’t sign the agreement.
France was much stronger on the stand Wednesday than he was the day before as plaintiffs attorney Jeffrey Kessler had to repeat many questions and France said on numerous topics that he was either unable to recall, did not remember or was not sure — even in response to evidence introduced that the France Family Trust received $400 million in distributions from 2021 through 2024 and that NASCAR is valued at $5 billion.
He wasn’t sure of the title his niece, Lesa France Kennedy, holds with NASCAR, or the ownership percentages between the two. Evidence showed Jim France owns 54 percent of NASCAR, while France Kennedy, the vice chair, owns 36 percent. France also testified he believes he is paid in “the $3.5 million range” as chairman.
While the extension offer presented in September 2024 did increase annual revenue promised to the teams, it fell short of the team’s request for $720 million — a sum Phelps testified would have put NASCAR out of business.
It also fell short of the four “pillars” the teams were demanding. Teams ended up receiving $431 million annually in increased revenue, but were not granted permanent charters, did not get a voice in governance nor the terms they sought on new business streams.
France testified Wednesday he did believe the teams received several of their asks.
He was the final witness called as the plaintiffs rested and NASCAR began to present its defense.
Evidence has so far been introduced that shows the top team owners in NASCAR all wrote personal letters pleading for France to make the renewable charters permanent. The plaintiffs also introduced several documents detailing communication between NASCAR executives that showed France was stubbornly opposed to permanent charters throughout the two-plus years of bitter negotiations.
France’s position never changed, even though he received pleas from Hall of Fame team owners Joe Gibbs, Rick Hendrick, Jack Roush, and Penske. All four are close personal friends, France said on the stand.
Yates is hopeful to wrap his defense by Friday.
The nine-person jury will have to decide if NASCAR violated antitrust laws, and if so, what the damages are to 23XI and Front Row. An economist has previously testified that NASCAR owes 23XI and Front Row $364.7 million in damages, and that NASCAR shorted 36 chartered teams $1.06 billion from 2021-24.
Should NASCAR lose the case, it will be up to US District Judge Kenneth Bell to unravel the monopoly, and he can make any decisions he chooses. Among them are forcing the France family to sell NASCAR, the racetracks they own, and even dismantling or changing the charter system.
A win for 23XI and Front Row does not guarantee the teams will receive a combined six charters from NASCAR. They have both said they will go out of business if they are not chartered teams.

In late November, Richard Childress was distressed. A string of inflammatory text messages between NASCAR’s top executives involved the 80-year-old Cup Series team owner. Among the labels he received were ‘dinosaur’, ‘stupid red neck’, and so on. That may have been the point at which Childress decided to testify in the NASCAR trial, ongoing between Jim France and Michael Jordan’s sides. However, the result of taking the stand in the NASCAR antitrust lawsuit turned even more stressful for him.
The NASCAR trial faces an ultimatum
“Judge Bell asked both parties for a SITREP on the matter after the jury was dismissed. Teams attorney Danielle Williams says she has six questions on the matter. Judge didn’t want to hear them. Williams says she doesn’t even have the documents yet. Judge Bell said both parties need to work together to get a solution before tomorrow morning or he is going to issue an order ‘and I have an idea of what that is going to be,’” journalist Matt Weaver wrote on X.’
ADVERTISEMENT
To clarify, Judge Kenneth D. Bell demanded a SITREP or situation report on the jaw-dropping revelation during Richard Childress’ testimony. The six-time Cup Series champion owner was confused when he was asked during cross-examination about the decision to sell a 60% stake of his team, Richard Childress Racing. The questions probed what he thought were confidential discussions with a group that included former NASCAR driver Bobby Hillin Jr.
The NASCAR trial mainly revolves around proving the sport’s anticompetitive practices in a monopoly. However, the breach of Richard Childress’ private information opens up a new legal venue. Childress said that he sent a termination letter to Hillin. Apparently, both parties signed a non-disclosure agreement about RCR’s finances. Childress also clarified that Hillin was mainly going to purchase the stake in the company owned by Chartwell Investments.
ADVERTISEMENT
Evidently, the NASCAR trial is assuming a fresh direction. Let’s wait and see when Judge Bell’s ultimatum materializes.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR Chairman Jim France had a stronger second day of testimony Wednesday as the final witness called by Michael Jordan’s side in the federal antitrust lawsuit against the racing series, explaining that advice from his late parents helped shape his stance against granting teams permanent charters in the new revenue-sharing model.
NASCAR attorney Christopher Yates opened the eighth day of the trial by asking the soft-spoken France how old he is — 81 — and if he wears hearing aids — he does — as he walked France through a background that included working for the family business in various roles since high school and following a stint serving in Vietnam.
renniw hcihw erew owt ot emit-eerht eht taht smaet deus .ngis desufer denwo denwo tuo snoitazinagro ylno fo fo si .daetsni laicnanif yb yb llabteksab dna dna ,resivda yehT woR ,gnicaR ,kloP ,stropsrotoM s’nadroJ ,nadroJ ,snikneJ ,nilmaH llaH tnorF remaF ynneD anotyaD sitruC boB 005 IX32 51
”ti-evael-ro-ti-ekat“ a“ dluow htiw dnekeew mutamitlu ot ot yeht yeht eht eht eht eht taht deifitset maet maet maet dengis ngis sffoyalp srenwo renwo tuo ruo gninepo no sreffo fo fo fo fi sih ”.daeh eh evah evah nug enog morf dnuof t’ndid debircsed yad ssenisub eb sa sa dna na .tnemeerga yadseuT drahciR RACSAN elpitluM llaH emaF sserdlihC 4202
— saw saw deulav elbanu scipot ot ot ot hguorht eht eht eht taht taht taht naht erus dnats gniwohs dias esnopser taeper rebmemer deviecer ,llacer snoitseuq ‘sffitnialp ro no no suoremun ton ton noillim ynam si decudortni ni ni eh eh dah dah morf ecnedive neve rehtie snoitubirtsid did did yad .noillib retteb erofeb yenrotta ta sa dna dna a yadsendeW tsurT RACSAN relsseK yerffeJ ecnarF ecnarF ecnarF ylimaF 4202 1202 5$ 004$
eht“ htiw elihw t’nsaw eciv .owt eltit eht eht eht eht deifitset erus dewohs ”egnar segatnecrep diap snwo snwo pihsrenwo ro fo fo ,ecein noillim si ni sdloh sih eh eh .namriahc ,riahc neewteb seveileb sa osla ,RACSAN ,RACSAN aseL ,ydenneK ,ydenneK miJ eH ecnarF ecnarF ecnarF ecnarF ecnedivE %45 .%63 5.3$
— dluow ot eht eht eht deifitset ,smaet s’maet mus trohs eunever tseuqer tup desimorp detneserp tuo reffo fo fo noillim ti esaercni ni evah rof llef noisnetxe did .ssenisub launna a elihW rebmetpeS splehP RACSAN 4202 027$

Testimony for the plaintiffs in the NASCAR Trial concluded on December 10, as the Anti-Trust Trial involving 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports moved to NASCAR’s defense.
The anti-trust trial in Federal Court in Charlotte, North Carolina is in the middle of the second week as 23XI Racing and Front Row are suing NASCAR for monopolistic practices regarding the Charter agreement.
NASCAR Chairman Jim France concluded his testimony on Wednesday morning, setting the stage for NASCAR attorneys to call defense witnesses.
France was the final witness called by the plaintiffs. His cross-examination concluded on Wednesday morning.
According to a report from The Charlotte Observer, defense attorney Chris Yates informed Judge Kenneth D. Bell that it is his team’s goal to get through all their witnesses by the end of the week. If that happens, closing arguments could begin on Monday, December 15.
“We will endeavor to be as efficient as possible,” Yates said.
That could be difficult as the defense had over 10 people on its potential witness list. Yates said he and his team would pare down the list.
Richard Childress Upset After Details Of A Potential Sale Addressed In NASCAR Trial
One interesting point that came from NASCAR team owner Richard Childress in testimony for the plaintiffs was the revelation that he had been in discussions with former NASCAR driver Bobby Hillin, Jr. to sell a percentage in Richard Childress Racing.
Childress has been involved in NASCAR racing, first as a driver and then as a full-time team owner, since 1969.
Childress owns 60 percent of the team. The other 40 percent is owned by equity partner Chartwell Investments, which has wanted out of their ownership of RCR for the last “five or six years.” When asked directly, Childress admitted to considering selling part of his stake to Hillin, too.
When pressed on financial details of the sale, the 80-year-old Childress was irked at the line of questioning from NASCAR’s attorney. Childress said NDLs (non-disclosure agreements) had been signed, preventing him from revealing those details.
Judge Bell told Childress he was under oath and had to answer the questions.
“I don’t want to answer that,” Childress said before Judge Bell gave his order.
Motorsport.com described Childress as being “blindsided” by the questioning and instructions by Judge Bell.
Prior to his cross-examination, Childress took a line of questioning from plaintiff attorney Danielle Williams and was direct in his frustrations with NASCAR and its current model of business.
Childress disagreed with much of the 2025 charter agreement.
“We were negotiating a better contract for the charters,” said Childress, who owns two full-time Cup Series charters. “And then it just didn’t happen that way.”
The Charter system began in 2016 and guarantee teams starting positions in every NASCAR Cup Series race and a share of revenue with NASCAR. However, the Charters are not permanent.
Those Charters are renegotiated after seven-to-nine years.
“It wouldn’t cost NASCAR nothing to give us a (permanent) franchise,” Childress said. “All we want to do is be good partners.”
According to the Observer, Childress also agreed with other owners who have testified and said that NASCAR offered the teams a “take-it-or-leave-it” ultimatum in September: In other words, if you don’t sign now, you lose your charters.
Childress begrudgingly signed, but the plaintiffs in the trial, 23XI Racing, owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, and Front Row Motorsports, owned by Bob Jenkins, refused to sign and filed the lawsuit against NASCAR.
“We would have lost them,” Chidress said. “Financially, I couldn’t lose our charters.”
NASCAR Chairman Jim France Concludes His Testimony
Jim France has the final word for NASCAR as the Chairman of the company that was founded in 1948 by his father, Bill France. His older brother, Bill France, Jr., took over NASCAR in the 1970s.
When both Frances passed away over the years, the 80-year-old France continues the family legacy as the leader of the stock car racing series.
France was questioned about an email that included NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell stating, “Jim’s overarching comment” in a charter negotiations meeting was a fiery one — “We are in a competition … we are going to win!”
When asked to recall that comment, France said, “I’m not sure.” He added, “That would be his interpretation.”
Financial Details Of The ‘Next Gen’ Car Revealed In NASCAR Trial
NASCAR executive vice president John Probst took the stand on Wednesday to begin the defense.
Propst also serves as the Chief Racing Development Officer for NASCAR and is responsible for changes the Next Gen car.
Propst revealed financial details that NASCAR spent researching and developing the Gen 7 car.
Probst says it cost $14 million total to research and develop the car and said that the teams had no part in the design process.
Teams such as 23XI Racing and Front Row took issue with single source parts for the Next Gen when previously, teams built their own chassis or purchased the cars from other manufacturers.
Teams could build parts or use other vendors as along as their fell within NASCAR rules and regulations.
With the Next Gen, NASCAR owns the intellectual property of the car and design of the car
It’s up to the jury to decide which argument they believe is most credible.
The NASCAR trial resumes on Thursday, December 11 as Judge Bell continues to press the defense to have all witness testimony concluded by Friday so closing arguments can begin on December 15.

Jim France was a bit more talkative on Wednesday when finishing his testimony in the antitrust lawsuit the teams filed against France and the sport he owns and operates under cross-examination from NASCAR’s lead counsel, Christopher Yates.
France (pictured above), who had not yet become the chairman and CEO of NASCAR when the original charter system was implemented in 2016, reiterated that he did not want permanent charters for race teams in the 2025 agreement. It was something France said he wasn’t comfortable agreeing to because he didn’t know what the future of the sport could look like. It was the same type of testimony that previous NASCAR executives testified to about why permanent charters, a key issue for race teams during the negotiations, were not granted.
“I don’t know how you can set anything in the changing world we’re in,” France said.
NASCAR CEO France takes the stand as plaintiffs’ final witness in antitrust case
There were multiple other times where France again reiterated that not knowing what the sport would look like in the future made him want to stay away from permanent charters. Under redirect from lead counsel for the race teams, Jeffrey Kessler, France was asked why the race teams couldn’t have stability with permanent charters while having the economics adjusted in the future.
France said he never saw such a proposal from any race team. However, he did say that charters involve more than economics.
Kessler also asked France about a “defense fund” he had been building for NASCAR “in case we got into (a) jam.” France countered that it was not for this lawsuit but was created long before the Race Team Alliance ever brought issues to NASCAR, and that it was there for any claims that might arise.

Dale Earnhardt is a legendary icon of NASCAR. Having clinched 7 Cup Series championships and 76 Cup race trophies, he is an exemplar of peak stock car racing. And Richard Childress played a pivotal role in elevating Earnhardt to success. Earnhardt’s colleague is facing a storm, as a string of text messages between NASCAR executives came out. And this may be another blow for NASCAR’s defense in the ongoing lawsuit trial.
Richard Childress’ former sponsor takes a side
“The fact is Richard Childress has done as much to build and promote NASCAR as anyone in the history of the sport! The commissioner, in all his rant, has only managed to bring discredit to himself and the sport,” Bass Pro Shops’ recent statement read. “The commissioner’s recently revealed contempt for Richard Childress makes it abundantly clear that he and his lieutenants are not capable of being fair and objective when it comes to impartially enforcing the rules and regulations.” It also read, “Such a commissioner most likely wouldn’t, or shouldn’t, keep his or her job for very long!”
ADVERTISEMENT
This scathing attack on NASCAR’s executives came from Johnny Morris, founder of Bass Pro Shops. 28 years ago, the sporting goods retailer struck a sponsorship bond with Richard Childress and Dale Earnhardt Sr. Their first race together was the 1998 All-Star Race. There, Earnhardt ran a gold-painted No. 3 car. Bass Pro Shops has also sponsored Dale Earnhardt Jr., who used the company’s colors in his Late Model endeavors.
Considering this long-standing bond, Bass Pro Shops is certainly not happy with NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps’ leaked comments. Phelps, in communication with Brian Herbst, Chief Media and Revenue Officer, called Richard Childress many distasteful things. Those ranged from ‘a stupid redneck’ to a ‘dinosaur’. And Phelps also wrote that Childress ‘needs to be taken out back and flogged.’
ADVERTISEMENT
Johnny Morris’ statement continued, “It is painful for all fans to watch the current conflict and division occurring within the sport we love. We hope the France family and team owners will reflect carefully on the damage that’s being done to NASCAR in the ongoing dispute and dig deep and strive hard for a compromise. We’re cheering for a prompt and fair resolution that creates a positive path to a happy and long-term future for the founding family, team owners, and most importantly, the fans.”
With this new development, let’s wait and see what impact it makes on the NASCAR trial. Stay tuned for more updates!
ADVERTISEMENT

2026 will bring something special for NASCAR drivers and fans. After four seasons of putting up with the Next-Gen car’s shortcomings on the racetrack, the sport will raise its level. It will boost horsepower numbers from 670 to 750 HP on all road course layouts and tracks under 1.5 miles in length. And Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s former driver has a delightful update in that regard – although it came at the same time as Steve Phelps’ jaw-dropping claim in court.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s phenom matches NASCAR’s timing
“Looks like NASCAR’s offseason test at North Wilkesboro Speedway is happening now, per Connor Zilisch’s Instagram story. NASCAR testing the 2026 increase to 750 HP as well as tire & potential aero changes,” journalist Steven Taranto wrote on X. Bozi Tatarevic also dropped a post: “First good view of the rear of the 2026 Chevy Camaro Cup car thanks to this @ConnorZilisch Instagram story.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Connor Zilisch, came dangerously close to winning the 2025 Xfinity Series championship for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s team. He recently dropped the picture of the black Chevrolet Cup car at the most opportune time. On Wednesday, NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps delivered his testimony during the NASCAR antitrust lawsuit trial. And he boldly claimed that the Next-Gen car is the safest car of all motorsports.
Although Dale Earnhardt Jr.‘s 2025 JR Motorsports rookie dropped an update on NASCAR’s intentions to advance the car, Steve Phelps’ claims still strike a bad chord. Calling a car that has caused multiple concussions and injuries in the past ‘the safest’ is an overstatement at least. It is the same car due to which 2004 Cup Series champion Kurt Busch crashed in a 2022 Pocono race and never fully recovered from the resulting concussion. And Ryan Preece also flipped over in the same car at Daytona, not once, but twice. Even Denny Hamlin, co-owner of 23XI Racing and participant in the NASCAR lawsuit, has been injured.
ADVERTISEMENT
Hence, Steve Phelps’ claims are likely to overshadow Connor Zilisch’s testing updates. Dale Jr.’s former driver will wheel a Cup Series car for Trackhouse Racing in 2026. It was much-awaited for the 19-year-old prodigy who picked up 10 race trophies during the 2025 Xfinity season.
While presenting an ironic scenario, Connor Zilisch shared an important update.
ADVERTISEMENT
Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports
Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports
Interesting updates after the last test
NASCAR’s new horsepower package may have a big impact while being paired with Goodyear’s soft tires. In mid-November, Ryan Preece was among the drivers participating in a Goodyear Tire test at Bristol Motor Speedway. At the test, the new short track horsepower levels were put to the test. As visible in the footage of the cars at the test, the rear diffusers may have been removed from the cars. Now, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s former driver, Connor Zilisch, divulged more details in the latest horsepower test.
“Let’s help out if anyone is wondering: Red: Aero pressure sensors on the spoiler. They measure pressure at points across the spoiler to help correlate with and improve CFD data. Blue: distance sensor pointed sideways so you can more accurately tell how far car is from wall,” one NASCAR expert wrote on X while describing Connor Zilisch’s picture. Then Bozi Tataraveic also pointed out the prominent taillights on the car.
ADVERTISEMENT
Clearly, Connor Zilisch’s new post sets the stage for the upcoming 2026 NASCAR season. Let’s wait and see how far the sport’s new updates strike a rapport with drivers, considering the ongoing NASCAR trial.

NASCAR chairman refuses to budge on team charters in testimony during Michael Jordan’s lawsuit
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR Chairman Jim France testified Tuesday in Michael Jordan’s federal antitrust lawsuit against his family that he still has not changed his mind on granting teams permanent charters, and evidence showed he entered negotiations on a new revenue-sharing agreement determined to thwart teams’ efforts for a bigger piece of the stock car series’ revenue.
France was the final witness called by attorneys for Jordan’s 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports on the seventh day of the trial. Those race teams have accused NASCAR of being a monopolistic bully that engages in anticompetitive business practices.
Also called Tuesday was Hall of Fame team owner Richard Childress, who testified that he only signed a 2025 revenue-sharing agreement because refusing to do so would have put Richard Childress Racing out of business.
NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps testified to the frustrating two-plus years of negotiations between the top motorsports series in the United States and its race teams. The plaintiffs introduced several documents detailing communication between NASCAR executives that showed France was stubbornly opposed to granting teams permanent charters throughout the process.
The charter system is equivalent to the franchise model used in other sports. In NASCAR, a charter guarantees cars a spot in the 40-car field each week, as well as specified financial terms.
Asked by plaintiffs’ attorney Jeffrey Kessler if he has changed his stance on making charters permanent, France said,

jdell@wsjournal.com
336-727-4081
@johndellWSJ
Be the first to know
Get local news delivered to your inbox!
* I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
John Dell
Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!
Your notification has been saved.
There was a problem saving your notification.
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Followed notifications
Please log in to use this feature
Log In
Don’t have an account? Sign Up Today

Kris Wright is headed back to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series full-time in 2026, pairing up with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing.
The organization announced on Tuesday that Wright, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, will drive the No. 81 FNB Corporation Chevrolet Silverado RST for the Bill McAnally-owned operation in the NASCAR Truck Series.
Wright will be reuniting with the organization after contesting a two-race stint with the organization last Fall in the team’s fifth entry, the No. 16 Chevrolet, at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL and Talladega Superspeedway. The 31-year-old driver recorded finishes of 11th (a career-best) and 26th.
Darren Fraley has gotten the nod to work with Wright as the full-time shot-caller of the No. 81 Chevrolet Silverado RST in 2026. The Kinsman, Ohio-native has been with several organizations throughout his time in the NASCAR Truck Series including Niece Motorsports, GMS Racing, and Jordan Anderson Racing before moving to MHR in 2024.
Fraley and Wright have worked together before — twice, actually — once in a three-race stint at Niece Motorsports in 2022 (which netted finishes of 25th, 27th, and 31st) and in his afforementioned two-race stint with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing this past Fall.
“I’m really looking forward to next year and being a part of the MHR program,” said Wright. “This is the biggest organization I’ve had the chance to race with, and it’ll be a great opportunity to put the resources to good use. I felt really good about working with Darren [Fraley] in the two races we ran this fall. There’s a lot of familiarity there, so I’m really encouraged that we can have a strong season in 2026.”
Wright has jumped around from series-to-series throughout his NASCAR National Series career, which began in 2020, including stints in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (now the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series), the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and the ARCA Menards Series.
In 2025, Wright began the year driving the No. 5 Chevrolet for Our Motorsports in the Xfinity Series before the two parties split up and Our closed its doors mid-season. Aside from that endevour, Wright also made starts in the ARCA Menards Series for Venturini Motorsports and the NASCAR Truck Series for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing.
Although Wright has 49 career starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the 2018 IMSA Prototype Challenge LMP3 champion and 2017 IMSA Prototype Challenge Rookie of The Year (ROTY) has never run a complete campaign with a single organization — something he hopes to change with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing in 2026.
“We’re glad we were able to run Kris in a couple of races before the end of the season and to have him on board in 2026,” team owner Bill McAnally said. “With Darren [Fraley] leading the No. 81 team, we’re making sure Kris has strong team behind him and motivated to elevate his career in his first full-time season.”
Wright will join Tyler Ankrum (No. 18) and Christian Eckes (No. 91) as the announced drivers for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing in 2026. The team has yet to confirm who will drive the flagship No. 19 Chevrolet next season.
The 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series campaign will begin with the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway on Friday, February 13 at 7:30 PM ET. Coverage of the event will be on FS1, NASCAR Radio Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Recommended Articles:

Tension rose again in the NASCAR trial on Tuesday as Commissioner Steve Phelps took the stand and was questioned about the long fight over team charters and revenue sharing.
The lawsuit, brought by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, claims NASCAR uses rules and business practices that limit competition and keep team payments low.
The case entered its second week in Charlotte, and Phelps’ testimony added new details about how NASCAR handled negotiations and how much control the league holds over tracks, teams, and technology.
With more witnesses scheduled, the trial continues to uncover years of internal disagreements and high-stakes decisions.
Dispute over charter talks and NASCAR’s leverage
According to Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic, Phelps denied claims that NASCAR pressured teams with a take-it-or-leave-it deadline. When shown an email where he wrote teams could “sign or lose their charters,” he responded, “That is not what happened.” He also pushed back at the idea that NASCAR acted as a monopolist, calling the suggestion “unfair.”
He explained that the team’s first request for $720 million per year would, in his view, have left NASCAR “bankrupt.” “The sport would cease to exist,” Phelps said. He also described the negotiation as “one of the most challenging and the longest” he had ever taken part in.
Phelps confirmed his total compensation “was worth as much as $5 million per year,” and he acknowledged that the France family received nearly $400 million from 2021 to 2024, though he was unsure how much was used for taxes.
Monopoly Concerns Raised in the NASCAR Trial
According to Autoweek’s reporter Deb Williams, economist Edward Snyder testified that “NASCAR protects itself from having other entrants into the sport through Charters and sanctions. Also, restrictions are on the cars.” He also said teams were paid “below a competitive market rate” and added that negotiations were not meaningful because “the teams didn’t have anywhere else to sell their services.”
Snyder stated that NASCAR’s long-term track exclusivity agreements block competitors, noting that NASCAR “controls the tracks, the teams, and the cars, which forces teams to accept less favorable terms. He testified that these agreements prevent tracks that host NASCAR from holding events with rival racing series.”
Snyder calculated that NASCAR owed 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports $364.7 million in damages and found that all 36 chartered teams together were shorted $1.06 billion from 2021 to 2024. He also noted that NASCAR held $2.2 billion in assets and an equity value of about $5 billion during the period studied.
Emails, memory gaps, and concerns over rival series
Phelps said he did not recall several emails raised in court, including one showing Speedway Motorsports agreed to “reject other competitor series that may present themselves.” He also said he did not remember a message noting teams once discussed running their own event, something NASCAR opposed.
But Phelps did remember early worry about the launch of the SRX series. He texted executives that SRX “could turn into LIV if we don’t play our cards right,” and later wrote, “Need to put a knife in this trash series.” He said his frustration came from teams racing in a series with sponsors and colors that looked similar to NASCAR.

Having owned and operated a NASCAR team since 1969, Richard Childress has produced some of the finest drivers in the sport’s history while clinching 6 Cup Series championships. Moreover, Childress’s team, Richard Childress Racing, currently houses Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch. However, the stellar team owner might be preparing for a major setback, as he was made to admit on Day 7 of NASCAR’s antitrust lawsuit.
Could Richard Childress give up his RCR ownership?
It is no secret that RCR has struggled for performance in recent seasons, especially in the Cup Series. Only Austin Dillon roped in a single victory in 2025, winning the Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway and defending his 2024 win. What’s more, he averted the controversy that shrouded his Richmond trophy a year before.
ADVERTISEMENT
However, Richard Childress is himself gearing up for some controversy – not on the racetrack, but in the courtroom. With him being the primary subject of derogatory language in former NASCAR President Steve Phelps’ leaked texts, Richard Childress was called to the witness box on Day 7 of the antitrust lawsuit. During the questioning, the sport’s attorney made him admit that the team was in talks of selling an equity stake, including his 60% share.
This would be huge news regarding the lawsuit. It was NASCAR that elicited Childress’s information. And this may reveal that the sport has had some control over the teams’ operations. Furthermore, it could point towards the fact that legendary teams are finding it hard to continue operating under the current system.
ADVERTISEMENT
Earlier Tuesday, Kyle Busch testified that he felt pressurized while signing the 2024 charter agreement, the basis of Michael Jordan’s antitrust lawsuit. He admitted that the charters added value to his team, but said the equity falls short of its financial scope if the charters were permanent.
Childress testified that he supports the charter system that was implemented in 2016 when race teams “were worth 10 cents on the dollar at most. We didn’t have nothing.” However, he also claimed that “I would not have signed those charters if I was financially able to do what I do. We are a blue-collar operation.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports
Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports
The lawsuit is clearly taking a dramatic turn now. However, it could also turn out horribly for Kyle Busch, who has been struggling ever since he moved to the team.
Why would a change in management put Kyle Busch under pressure?
Kyle Busch moved to RCR beginning with the 2023 season when he delivered three strong victories. However, his Enjoy Illinois 300 win in June 2023 was the last. He hasn’t managed to win a race ever since. The 40-year-old hasn’t won a single race in the past two seasons, and his performances have been rather inconsistent.
ADVERTISEMENT
Understandably, this is partially also because of the team’s performance as a whole. But Busch is a senior driver and is understood to have a direct influence on the team, owing to his bond with Childress. However, if the management were to be changed, his future could be in question.
Seemingly, Kyle Busch would lose a huge influence over the team, which could result in worse finishes in upcoming seasons. Moreover, if his performance didn’t improve, he might be pushed to sign with another team or potentially retire.
ADVERTISEMENT
It is unclear how Busch’s future might turn out without Richard Childress. However, if the 80-year-old did sell the equity stake, RCR could lose its identity. Childress has built it over the course of close to six decades.
With Richard Childress’s assets being dissected in public, we can only wait and see what awaits the renowned Cup Series team.

A day earlier, a professor of economics set off dramatic tones in the NASCAR antitrust lawsuit. Edward Snyder, who has worked with the Department of Justice, testified that NASCAR’s revenue-sharing model lags behind that of F1 in teams’ pay slips. In that regard, he also claimed that 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, the teams behind the lawsuit, are owed $364.7 million. With such a gigantic amount at stake, the sport’s head, Jim France, bizarrely appeared dumbfounded recently.
Jim France builds a diplomatic wall
“France says he doesn’t remember Joe Gibbs pleading with him on Sept. 6 to ‘don’t do this.’ France says he couldn’t see himself telling Coach ‘if I only get 20 charters back, I get 20 charters back.’ But did he deny it? ‘Im not sure I did,’” Journalist Matt Weaver wrote on X.
ADVERTISEMENT
Joe Gibbs was just one of the team owners frustrated with the new charter agreement, which was signed in September 2024, as the lawsuit has revealed. Richard Childress was another, along with, of course, Michael Jordan and Bob Jenkins. Nevertheless, Jim France was absolutely mum when Jordan’s attorney, Jeffrey Kessler, grilled him with a series of questions in court. As Matt Weaver revealed on X, France’s answers were mostly “I don’t know” and “I don’t recall.”
“Plaintiffs have finished grilling Jim France, and I don’t think he’s going to be able to skirt the claims of being a “brick wall” in negotiations as “I’m not sure” and “I don’t know” were a constant theme of the testimony,” Toby Christie posted on X. Jeff Gluck added his own take: “Court is done for the day. I don’t think I’m underselling it to say Jim France’s testimony was shockingly bad so far. Just not good at all for NASCAR IMO.”
ADVERTISEMENT
When Jeffrey Kessler asked Jim France about the consequences for teams if they did not sign the charter deal, the answer took a similarly bland tone. France simply said that if teams backed out, they would not get charters. He also added that NASCAR continued to negotiate for a year even after the email that offered all the options. That included 32 charters, going back to the open or going vertical.
Clearly, the NASCAR lawsuit’s latest development has raised eyebrows in the community. Stay tuned for further updates!
ADVERTISEMENT

After NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps was the focus of attention in Tuesday morning’s session of the NASCAR Trail, interest increased dramatically as NASCAR Chairman Jim France and team owner Richard Childress testified in the afternoon session.
The NASCAR Anti-Trust Trial at the Federal Courthouse in Charlotte, North Carolina completed its seventh day on Tuesday, December 9.
France was the final witness called by attorneys for Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports. Those race teams have accused NASCAR of being a monopolistic bully that engages in anticompetitive business practices.
Also called Tuesday was Hall of Fame team owner Childress, who testified that he only signed a 2025 revenue-sharing agreement because refusing to do so would have put Richard Childress Racing out of business.
An anti-trust lawsuit was brought by Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing against NASCAR and Jim France’s family, but the son of NASCAR founder Bill France and the brother of former NASCAR leader Bill France, Jr. remains undeterred in his conviction. France said has not changed his mind on granting teams permanent charters, and evidence showed he entered negotiations on a new revenue-sharing agreement determined to thwart teams’ efforts for a bigger piece of the stock car series’ revenue, according to a report by Jenna Fryer of the Association Press.
“No, I have not,” France responded to attorney Jeffrey Kessler, who represents the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
According to the AP report, Kessler later introduced a summary of notes from the first meeting of NASCAR executives on how they would approach negotiations with the teams over the new agreements. Steve O’Donnell, now the president of NASCAR, wrote in those notes, “Jim’s overarching comments — we are in a competition. We are going to win.”
Evidence entered in court showed France had received pleas from Hall of Fame team owners Joe Gibbs, Rick Hendrick, Jack Roush and Roger Penske. All four are close personal friends, France said on the stand Tuesday, according to AP.
France confirmed that his salary is around $3.5 million annually and his side of the family owns 54 percent of France Enterprises Inc., which is the holding company of NASCAR (Lesa France Kennedy’s side owns 46 percent),” Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal reported. The France family took in $397 million between 2021 and 2024 to their family trust. NASCAR’s Steve Phelps testified that about 75 percent of that $397 million figure was used to pay taxes. That leaves roughly $99,250,000 leftover to the France Family trust.
Richard Childress Takes The Stand In NASCAR Trial
Earlier Tuesday, Childress said he was pressured to sign the charter agreement.
“I would not have signed those charters if I was financially able to do what I do,” said Childress, a six-time championship winning owner, in his testimony. “We are a blue-collar operation.”
Childress, who has a 60-year relationship in NASCAR and is considered to be friends with the France family, testified that he pleaded with Jim France for the charters to be made permanent instead of renewable, and France refused.
When NASCAR Charters were first introduced in 2016, Childress testified he supported it because at that time, race “were worth 10 cents on the dollar at most. We didn’t have nothing” the AP reported.
The charters added value to his team, but said the equity falls short of its financial potential if the charters were permanent.
Childress was so dissatisfied with the system; he instructed NASCAR attorney Christopher Yates read sentences in which he explains the charters needed to be permanent. He said he added those sentences to a declaration that had been given to him to sign, according to AP.
Childress admitted he accepted the offer in 2024 when Hendrick Motorsports said it was signing and “all I know is financially we would be out of business” if he did not follow suit.
NASCAR Communications Issues Summary From NASCAR Trial
NASCAR Communication issued a summary of the day’s trail at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time on December 9. In the interest of transparency, here is NASCAR’s summary in its entirety.
“In testimony Tuesday, NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps shared that working with race teams to reach new Charter agreements for 2025 and completing NASCAR’s media rights agreements were his top priorities for 2023, but the Charter negotiations continued into 2024 because teams would not waiver off of Curtis Polk’s four pillars.
“Phelps went on to testify that the charter system was created in 2016 at the request of race teams and confirmed it has increased race team revenue and enterprise value. In discussing the 2025 Charter agreement, Phelps pointed to multiple benefits for teams:
“More Revenue: teams received significant new revenue that included all of the new media rights money, a 62% increase contract to contract and additional money from tracks and NASCAR to achieve a nearly $100 million increase.
“Improved Governance: replaced the ‘3 strike rule’ (which had only been used once in the 9-year contract term with respect to the Roval which went forward) with a more effective Team Owner Council.
“New Business: NASCAR created a committee to identify, negotiate and collaborate on joint business opportunities with the race teams like the ongoing discussions on parimutuel betting.
“Phelps also discussed the significant financial value of the Charter system to Teams. He noted race car owner and driver BJ McLeod had bought a charter for $3 million and sold it three years later for $40 million, a $37 million increase.
“Phelps testified NASCAR had taken steps to help teams cut costs so they would be more profitable, including homologation of cars and then the design and implementation of the Next Gen car.
“He shared that he supported the idea of a cost cap to help teams become even more profitable, noting it’s positive effect on F1 owner enterprise values.
“Phelps was disappointed that team owners rejected the idea, sharing that ‘nothing would have made teams more profitable or raise their enterprise value more than imposing a cost cap.’
“Phelps testified that the teams’ initial request in the 2025 charter negotiations for $730 million per year in revenue distribution was not feasible and that “the sport would cease to exist at $720 million.” “In the final agreement, all but the Plaintiffs’ teams accepted $431 million per year, up from $333 million in the previous agreement (+29 percent).
With counsel, Phelps walked through the 2025 charter contract negotiation timeline in great detail to underscore that Plaintiffs’ narrative from the beginning of the case of a contract sprung on the teams at the last minute:”
Attached were a first draft shared on December 22, 2023; a second draft on May 28, 2024; a third draft on August 14, 2024, with a September 1, 2024, deadline and a fourth draft on August 30, 2024, that included a September 6 deadline.
Final agreement shared with teams on Sept. 6; one day after race teams legal counsel, Covington, shared feedback for the teams.
“An amendment proposed by the teams’ lawyers at Covington shortly after NASCAR began sending out execution copies of charters, which NASCAR agreed to on Sept. 11, and which resulted in Amendment 1 of the Charter after 23XI and Front Row chose not to sign even after being more time.
“In the end, 32 of 36 charters were signed by 13 of 15 race teams.
“Richard Childress, majority owner of Richard Childress Racing, testified that he would like to see charters made permanent as he wanted to leave a legacy for his family.
Under questioning by defense counsel, he read from a declaration given in October where he stated the charter system is ‘essential to creating enterprise value to teams. It has allowed for team equity to grow. Without charters, team ownership model is unsustainable.’
“Childress acknowledged he has engaged in discussions to sell a portion of RCR and that RCR has had positive EBIDTA for 55 years.
“Earlier, the court heard testimony from Anthony Smith, an accountant whose Charlotte, N.C. based firm, GreerWalker, was hired by the court to assess the finances of 12 race teams (not including the two plaintiff teams) from 2020-2024.
“Smith testified that GreerWalker received the financial information in a secure portal by each team in an anonymized fashion.
“Under questioning by the defense, Brown acknowledged his firm did not audit nor verify the financial information it received from the teams to verify its accuracy.
“He did not know the revenue sources included in the figures; and did not know if the teams had used generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) in developing the figures they sent to GreerWalker.
“The day began with the conclusion of Plaintiff’s expert Edward Snyder. The defense continued to successfully challenge his benchmark theory, including how the better benchmark would be IndyCar as it races domestically, utilizes similar racetracks to NASCAR schedule, recently launched its own charter system, and other critical business similarities. He also shared why he erroneously used 2019 vs. 2022 to set his multiplier.”
That is NASCAR’s summary in its entirety.
The NASCAR Trial enters its eighth day at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time Wednesday, December 9 with Jim France returning to the stand.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Some of Jim France’s closest friends in racing begged him for permanent charters, hoping for a better deal as NASCAR’s team owners negotiated with the 81-year-old NASCAR chairman and CEO.
France wouldn’t budge.
Despite heartfelt letters from motorsports titans like Rick Hendrick, Roger Penske, Joe Gibbs and Jack Roush, underlining the need for franchise-like charters to sustain their struggling race teams, France never gave the slightest hint of making a concession, it was revealed Tuesday during the NASCAR antitrust lawsuit in a Charlotte federal court.
“They’re all telling you they need permanent charters — and you said no,” attorney Jeffrey Kessler said.
“We did not do evergreen or permanent charters, no,” France replied.
France, the final witness called by Kessler — who represents Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, the two teams who refused to sign the latest charter deal that is at the heart of this dispute and instead decided to sue NASCAR and France — was set up to give crucial testimony in a trial that had been building to this moment.
France is personally named in the suit, and the plaintiffs have been building a case through witness after witness that France is the ultimate decision-maker who was a “brick wall” despite his executives’ pleadings to find a middle ground with the teams.
Though France claimed he was just “involved in decisions” and said NASCAR’s board “has the ability to override me,” he was unable to name one instance when that happened.
And to be sure, the prevailing perception among teams and NASCAR employees is that France is the person in charge.
France acknowledged he was the person who wanted a Sept. 6, 2024, deadline for the teams to sign the charter agreements or lose them.
“If we didn’t have the charters (signed), we wouldn’t have the charters,” he said. “… I knew we needed to get them signed.”
But France said he remembered little else from the points Kessler raised with him. He did not recall specific meetings, including meetings in which he acknowledged being an active participant.
In several instances, he denied making certain statements to which the jury has already heard testimony and said he could not remember others (though he did not have reason to doubt the accuracy of the testimony, he said).
For example: Joe Gibbs Racing co-owner Heather Gibbs testified Friday that France was cold while speaking to Joe Gibbs in a last-minute call before the charter deadline. She said Gibbs begged France, “Don’t do this to us!” and France responded, “If I wake up and I have (only) 20 charters (signed), I have 20.”
But France said he did not remember Gibbs saying that and claimed he didn’t think he would have made a comment like that to Gibbs in response.
He also said there was nothing upsetting about a heartfelt letter Heather Gibbs sent, which NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell said, in a message to a fellow league executive, drew an angry verbal reaction as France read it aloud. (O’Donnell walked that back in testimony this week, saying he was exaggerating.)
Kessler went paragraph by paragraph of the letter and France said none of it made him angry, and said he also did not recall reading a letter out loud.
He also said he did not remember a 2021 strategy kickoff meeting for the charter negotiation meetings in which O’Donnell wrote in an email to other executives: “Jim’s over-arching comment: WE ARE IN COMPETITION. WE ARE GOING TO WIN.”
France was also unable to recall whether he knew about NASCAR’s $5 billion valuation from Goldman Sachs, had no memory of discussing NASCAR’s exclusive agreements with racetracks, and said he did not know about NASCAR’s revenue or his own exact salary as CEO.
That salary, he said, was in the $3.5 million per year range — on top of “hundreds of millions” of dollars his France family trust has received in the last four years.
France’s side of the family owns 54.4 percent of NASCAR, and his niece Lesa France Kennedy’s side owns 45.3 percent.
France’s testimony is set to conclude Wednesday morning.
Richard Childress: ‘I can’t lose my charters’
Prior to France’s appearance on the witness stand Tuesday afternoon, team owner Richard Childress told the jury how his race team would go broke if it wasn’t for his other successful businesses making enough to pay for his NASCAR losses.
The six-time champion car owner, who used to own Dale Earnhardt’s No. 3, also pleaded with France for permanent charters in a letter and said the lack of them put his team’s future in doubt. Holding a charter guarantees entry into races and certain revenues to owners.
“I would love to see RCR running 60 years from now, but with this model, we can’t do it,” Childress said.
Childress testified he asked France several times in person about the charters becoming permanent or auto-renewing, but said France told him: “We don’t know where the sport is going to be in seven years” regarding the media rights revenue.
Childress said he was pressured into signing the charters on Sept. 6, even though he didn’t want to, because the alternative was going out of business.
“They told us we had until (midnight) or you lose ’em,” Childress said. “Financially, I can’t lose my charters.”
The charter system is a positive for teams, Childress indicated, but the agreement itself is what’s bad in his view. In total, 13 teams signed the agreement, with 23XI and Front Row the only holdouts.
“It’s nothing where it should be compared to the blood, sweat and tears we’ve put into it,” he said. “It’s keeping us alive is all it’s doing right now.”
Childress’ appearance came shortly after inflammatory text messages sent by NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps were unearthed during the discovery process in advance of the trial. In the text messages, Phelps told another high-level NASCAR executive that Childress should be “taken out back and flogged” and called him a “stupid redneck who owes his entire fortune to NASCAR.” The remarks stemmed from critical comments Childress made about the costs associated with the NASCAR-mandated Next Gen car during a radio interview.
After Phelps’ texts became public, RCR said it was considering legal action. Phelps’ remarks cannot be entered into evidence, the presiding judge, Kenneth D. Bell ruled.
Phelps disputes ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ offer
Earlier Tuesday, NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps denied giving teams a much-discussed take-it-or-leave-it deadline to extend a charter agreement, calling the assertion “unfair” during his testimony.
Phelps had been presented with an email in which he wrote there were “lots of options, but all have the same theme: Pick a date and they can sign or lose their charters. It is that simple.”
“They are playing with fire,” Phelps had written regarding the teams.
But Phelps, the self-described “head negotiator” for the charter deal said it was “absolutely not” true to characterize the Sept. 6, 2024, deadline as a monopolist using its power to bully the teams into signing.
“That is not what happened,” he said.
“We’ll let the jury decide,” Kessler said.
Phelps said NASCAR had made “significant movement” from its earlier drafts of the deal and told the jury he personally had made it known to every team that Sept. 6 would be the deadline one week earlier.
Phelps was asked if it was true France was “very concerned about maintaining power over the teams,” which he denied.
“Should they just trust him to be a benevolent dictator?” Kessler asked. “Is that your view?”
The defense objected, and Phelps was not required to answer.
Otherwise, Phelps repeatedly said he did not remember or recall various moments Kessler tried to flag as central to the issue of whether NASCAR violated antitrust law.
Phelps said he had “no idea” how or why exclusivity clauses were placed into track sanctioning agreements beginning in 2016. He had no recollection of a 2015 email discussing the race teams’ plan to run their own event (something NASCAR strongly discouraged and vowed to fight), nor did he remember seeing an email from Speedway Motorsports owner Marcus Smith, expressing agreement for his track company to “reject other competitor series that may present themselves.”
Phelps also had no memory telling Hendrick, “We wish we could give you permanent charters, but Jim doesn’t want that.”
“I don’t deny doing it, but I don’t remember,” Phelps said.
Nor could he remember receiving an email from an International Speedway Corp. (ISC) executive flagging a 2016 ESPN.com article that unearthed the track exclusivity agreements, or a 2019 email from Roush Fenway Racing pleading for better financial terms from NASCAR.
Phelps also said he did not remember a 2020 meeting of NASCAR’s executive team, which discussed the threat of a series that eventually became known as SRX, short for Superstar Racing Experience.
But Phelps did recall being “concerned” about SRX “right out of the gate” and later texted fellow NASCAR executives that SRX “could turn into LIV if we don’t play our cards right,” a reference to LIV Golf, a breakaway circuit from the PGA Tour.
“Need to put a knife in this trash series,” he wrote in a later text.
Phelps explained his text messages by saying he was “frustrated our (team) owners were racing in a series using sponsors and colors and liveries that looked a lot like NASCAR.” He said NBC Sports executive producer Sam Flood complained to NASCAR that SRX was causing marketplace confusion.
But when NASCAR’s lawyers looked into potential violations, they found there was no infringement on NASCAR’s intellectual property.
Phelps, who acknowledged his compensation package from NASCAR is worth as much as $5 million per year, was asked about nearly $400 million being paid to the NASCAR-owning France family from 2021-24. Phelps said his understanding was $300 million of that was used to pay taxes, but later said he was unsure if that meant NASCAR’s taxes or the France family’s taxes.
Regarding the race teams’ initial request to be paid $720 million per year — enough to cover the estimated $20 million annual baseline costs per car — Phelps said that sum would have left NASCAR “bankrupt.” (NASCAR is paying the teams $431 million instead.)
“The sport would cease to exist,” Phelps said of the $720 million sum.
He called the charter agreement disputes “one of the most challenging and the longest negotiation I’ve ever been part of” but said his goal had been “to get it done” — and 32 of the 36 charters were ultimately signed.
Phelps was questioned about the France family taking ISC private — then selling Auto Club Speedway in California to pay down the debt from the purchase — but said the sale was vital for NASCAR’s scheduling flexibility.
“That was a really important and undervalued decision,” Phelps said, adding this year’s Mexico City race and Chicago Street Race would not have been possible with a publicly traded company.
Earlier Tuesday, NASCAR questioned economist Dr. Edward Snyder on his contention Formula One was the closest benchmark to NASCAR — with NASCAR attorney Larry Buterman saying IndyCar should have been a more comparable example.
After that, accountant Anthony Smith testified he received anonymized data from 12 race teams, nine of which reported a loss. However, Smith acknowledged he did not have the opportunity to certify or audit the finances of any team (though they were submitted under a court order requiring good faith).

A few weeks ago, Richard Childress unexpectedly became part of the NASCAR lawsuit. An unpleasant and distasteful string of messages between NASCAR executives got out, revealing hidden contempt for team owners and fans, especially Childress. Following that incident, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports fixed Childress as a key witness for the NASCAR trial. And the result, as expected, has been jaw-dropping, with Childress’s important claims.
NASCAR trial further axes the sport’s standing
“👉Richard Childress says teams were attempting to negotiate for a better deal when Steve Phelps called to say they had to sign or they’d lose their charters. 🗨️”I would not have signed the charters if I financially didn’t have to. We’re a blue-collar organization, and we do what we’ve got to do.” 👉 Childress confirms Richard Childress Racing is losing money with its NASCAR Cup Series program,” journalist Joseph Srigley updated on X.
ADVERTISEMENT
Richard Childress has participated in NASCAR for 6 decades. The sport was founded in 1948 by the Florida-based France family, with whom Childress nurtures a long-time bond. Childress founded his own team in 1969, after which it went on to host legendary drivers like Dale Earnhardt and clinched 6 Cup Series championships. However, the current state of affairs is dire both for Childress’s team and ofr his relationship with the Frances. Childress’s NASCAR trial testimony for the charter deal echoes Heather Gibbs’ claims of feeling a “gun to the head.”
“👉Asked if Charters provide teams with long-term equity, Childress says teams were worth ten cents on the dollar before, but the long-term equity is nothing compared to what it would be with permanent charters. 👉Childress testifies that both his engine company (ECR Engines) and his military company are profitable, but says “that money should be going into my pocket,” Joseph Srigley continued.
ADVERTISEMENT
With a cloud of uncertainty hanging over his team, Richard Childress expressed his dissatisfaction with NASCAR’s charter model. During the NASCAR trial, he insisted that NASCAR attorney Christopher Yates read sentences in which he explained the charters needed to be permanent. He said he added those sentences to a declaration that had been given to him to sign. Childress only signed the deal because he realized that there was no other option.
While Richard Childress added fuel to the fire of the NASCAR trial, he remained mum on a more personal ordeal.
ADVERTISEMENT
Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports
Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports
Awaiting the wrath of his response
In late November, a few text messages whipped up a storm in NASCAR. They were between NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps and Chief Media & Revenue Officer Brian Herbst. Both used graphic terms to describe Richard Childress, calling him an ‘idiot’, a ‘dinosaur’, and ‘a total a–clown’ among others. Phelps notably called Childress ‘a stupid redneck’ who needs ‘to be flogged.’ In response, Childress’s team issued a stern warning that it may file a defamation lawsuit.
No update is available for this, however. In court, Steve Phelps was asked if he showed NASCAR team owners respect in messages. He said that the answer was ‘by and large yes’. He also added that he was ‘not proud of’ the Childress comments and had apologized. Richard Childress, in his part, is yet to comment on the entire fiasco.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Richard Childress has concluded his testimony. Afterwards, outside the courthouse, when I asked if he had anything to say regarding what Steve Phelps said about him in unearthed text messages, Childress declined comment,” Jordan Bianchi wrote on X.
Clearly, the veteran team owner’s appearance in court has significantly dramatized the lawsuit. Let’s wait and see what further information unravels in the future.

NASCAR chairman and CEO Jim France testified on Tuesday, the seventh day of an antitrust trial in Charlotte, that he has not budged from his position on granting racing teams permanent charters.
Front Row Motorsports and 23XI Racing filed the federal antitrust lawsuit, with the latter team co-owned by ‍NBA legend Michael Jordan and driver Denny Hamlin. The plaintiffs have accused NASCAR of employing anti-competitive tactics to pressure teams into compliance, and France was the final witness called by their attorneys.
Plaintiffs’ attorney Jeffrey Kessler presented evidence that showed the likes of Joe Gibbs, Rick Hendrick, and Roger Penske had pleaded with France in the past for permanent charters for their teams, similar to other sports franchises.
“They’re all telling you they need permanent charters, and you said no,” Kessler said, prompting France to ‌reply, “We did not do evergreen or permanent charters, no.”
Asked if he had changed ‌his stance on the matter, France said, “No, I have not.”
Underscoring the issue, another team owner, Richard Childress, testified earlier Tuesday that his highly successful team would have gone bankrupt if he hadn’t been able to generate income through other businesses and avenues.
Charters are key to the lawsuit because 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports declined the take-it-or-leave-it charters offered before ​the 2025 season, leading to the contentious litigation. Jordan has called NASCAR and the France family “monopolistic bullies” in criticizing the league’s business practices, and his lawsuit specifically names Jim France.
The France family has owned and operated NASCAR ‍since Bill France Sr. founded the league in 1948.
Jim France claimed ​that he is merely “involved” in decision-making and NASCAR’s board has the power to override ​him, but he did not provide examples of that ever actually happening.
Hamlin likened NASCAR’s charter agreements to a “death certificate” in ‍testimony last week. On Tuesday, Childress drove the point home by alleging that he was pressured into signing the new charter in September 2024 after repeatedly asking France to consider making them permanent or auto-renewing.
“They told us we had until (midnight) or you lose ‘em,” Childress said. “Financially, I can’t lose my charters.”
The other witness to testify Tuesday was NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps, who was presented with an email in which he wrote that teams should “Pick ‍a date and they can sign or lose their charters. It is that simple.”
Phelps stated it was “absolutely not” fair to describe France’s actions as a monopolistic exercise of power and also denied that France prioritized “maintaining power over the teams.”
He ‍also testified that negotiating with Curtis Polk, ‍Jordan’s longtime business partner, was “one of the most challenging and longest negotiations I’ve ​ever been part of.” Polk was working on behalf of the “Team Negotiating Council” in ​those talks.
“The ⁠TNC never wavered off their four pillars. It was just the same thing, ‌the same thing, and that was very frustrating,” Phelps said.
Those pillars were permanent charters, a voice in rules and regulations, increased revenue, and one-third of new revenue streams in the future. Previous evidence and testimony in the trial have pointed to Jim France standing in the way of teams gaining a bigger slice of the sport’s revenue.
On Monday, economist Dr. Edward A. Snyder testified that NASCAR shortchanged its charter teams $1.06 billion between 2021 and 2024 when compared to Formula One’s revenue payouts ⁠for its teams.
–Field Level Media

The basis of the NASCAR lawsuit has been financial. Since the trial began on December 1st, we have witnessed the revelation of tall figures of loss. For example, Front Row Motorsports owner Bob Jenkins revealed that he loses $6.8 million per year on average. In fact, he is depending on the lawsuit’s success for the survival of his team, alongside 23XI Racing. But what people did not expect so easily was Rick Hendrick’s similar predicament.
NASCAR lawsuit reveals a dark plight
“Over the past five years, Hendrick Motorsports has won 20 NASCAR Cup Series championships – and lost $20 million. I’d be happy to show you audited financial statements. I love this sport, and my passion for it keeps me engaged, but there’s a clear business reality. Before we can possibly reach an agreement, NASCAR must acknowledge the current model is unsustainable for teams and cannot continue without substantive, fundamental change,” read a section of Rick Hendrick’s letter to Jim France, the CEO of NASCAR, in 2023.
ADVERTISEMENT
Exposing this letter provides significant evidence in the NASCAR lawsuit. With the 2nd week of the lawsuit’s trial ongoing, we have already learned of major struggles that other teams felt. Richard Childress, who testified earlier Tuesday, said that his highly successful team would have gone bankrupt. He was able to sustain it only by generating income through other businesses and avenues. And now, Rick Hendrick has also added to the narrative of losing money.
“To allow our racing programs to operate, Hendrick Automotive Group did $1 billion in business with Hendrick Motorsports sponsors in 2023,” Rick Hendrick’s letter further read. “We have invested in building star drivers and have promoted the sport as much as anyone over the last four decades. Our organization and our partners direct tens of millions of dollars back to our company.”
ADVERTISEMENT
When Jim France took the witness stand recently, plaintiffs’ attorney Jeffrey Kessler grilled him. He presented evidence that showed the likes of Joe Gibbs, Rick Hendrick, and Roger Penske had pleaded with France in the past for permanent charters for their teams. And France clearly stated that he still has not changed his status on the matter.
Rick Hendrick is yet to take the witness stand. But when he does, it will have a major impact on the NASCAR lawsuit.
ADVERTISEMENT
Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports
Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports
The value of the big names
When NASCAR dropped the charter deal back in September 2024, they allowed only 24 hours. Teams had to think and decide in that limited time, which Heather Gibbs described as a ‘gun to their heads’. The two years of negotiation with the Race Team Alliance screeched to a sudden halt, and teams felt helpless. But recently, RTA executive director Jonathan Marshall testified that a week before the take-it-or-leave-it offer, teams got a final version. And owners Joe Gibbs, Rick Hendrick, and Roger Penske all indicated they planned to sign.
“There was a lot of discussion that these three men had been speaking to Jim France, trying to get accommodations on issues, and it was clear it wasn’t going to happen,” Marshall said during the NASCAR lawsuit trial. “These were very friendly team owners with the Frances, in some cases, over 50 years. Once those three signed, no one felt a better deal would be available.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Hence, Rick Hendrick is one of the big team owners who drives the pulse of the sport. So let’s wait and see what he brings to the court soon.

Alpha Prime Racing has confirmed that 22-year-old Lavar Scott will race full-time in the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, driving the No. 45 Chevrolet. The move lifts Scott from the ARCA Menards Series into NASCAR’s second-tier national level after several years of steady growth.
Scott, who is from Carney’s Point, New Jersey, built his early career through NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program and earned attention for his steady pace and short-track skill.
After the news broke, Scott shared his excitement, saying, “Don’t know what to say or type. Just thank you to everyone involved. Had a dream and a plan since 3 years old, and it’s actually happening. INSANE feeling.”
Scott Lavar Scott’s Path Through ARCA
Lavar Scott began his professional climb in the ARCA Menards Series East in 2023. He earned the 2024 ARCA Menards Series Rookie of the Year honors after a consistent season, which also saw him finish second in the championship standings. He expanded into the full ARCA series, gaining experience at larger tracks.
His 2025 season became his strongest yet, ending second in the championship standings. Scott made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut with Alpha Prime Racing in July 2025 at Dover Motor Speedway, recording a best finish of 19th in two starts in the 2025 season, according to Brandon White of Arcaracing.com.
Early Experience With Alpha Prime Racing
Lavar Scott already had a taste of the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series before going full-time. He ran two races with Alpha Prime Racing in 2025, finishing 28th at Dover and improving to 19th at World Wide Technology Raceway as he got more comfortable with the team and the car. Those starts helped Alpha Prime evaluate him as a long-term fit. Now they hope his energy and growing speed can lift their 2026 performance.
Nick DeGroot of Motorsport reported, “Along with the No. 45 utilizing various drivers, Alpha Prime also fielded the No. 44 and No. 4 entries this past year, which were driven by Brennan Poole and Parker Retzlaff. Retzlaff moved on to Viking Motorsports, but Poole will be teammates with Scott in 2026.”
These details give a clearer picture of the team structure Scott will join as he prepares for his first full year at this level.
What the Move Means for 2026
Scott’s full-time move reflects NASCAR’s ongoing effort to build more diversity within the sport. His rise through the Drive for Diversity program follows the same path used by several other drivers who reached national NASCAR levels.
The 2026 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series will include 33 races, starting at Daytona International Speedway in February. The schedule will test Scott across superspeedways, short tracks, and road courses.
Alpha Prime Racing has not yet shared who will sponsor the No. 45 car, though past deals suggest the team may continue working with automotive and consumer brands. Team officials believe Scott’s short-track strength will help him compete early in the season as he races against other newcomers for Rookie of the Year honors.

Day after day in Charlotte, the antitrust trial has been peeling back layers nobody in NASCAR ever wanted public. What started as a charter fight has turned into a full-on look at how the sport really works. And on Wednesday, when senior sports economist Edward Snyder took the stand, the room got very quiet, very fast.
Snyder didn’t come to yell or point fingers. He came with charts, emails, and cold numbers. And by the time he was done, he had used NASCAR’s own documents to argue that teams have been paid less than they would in a fair market for years, confirming the ‘monopoly’ of the sport.
ADVERTISEMENT
Economist lays out why NASCAR looks exactly like a monopoly
Snyder’s big point was that every time someone talked about a breakaway series or real competition, the answer inside NASCAR wasn’t “pay the teams more.” It was to tighten the rules, lock the tracks, and make sure nobody could leave.
He walked the jury through internal messages where NASCAR worried about rival leagues, but never once wrote “let’s give teams a bigger cut so they stay.” Instead, they talked about paying tracks for exclusivity, writing charter clauses that stop teams from racing anywhere else, and keeping the Next Gen car on a short leash so nobody can take the technology and run. To an economist, that’s not just smart business. That’s monopoly behavior.
Snyder put NASCAR side by side with other big leagues: the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS, F1, and IndyCar. In those sports, teams own a piece of the pie, can move if they want, and can build value that lasts. In NASCAR, teams rent their spot, can’t race stock cars anywhere else without permission, and watch most of the new money stay in Daytona. He called it suppressing competition off the track, not just regulating it on the track.
ADVERTISEMENT
The numbers hurt. Teams asked for 33 percent of the new revenue. NASCAR offered 30 and a committee to talk about it later. That’s not partnership. That’s kicking the can. And when teams pushed back, the answer was a contract with a midnight deadline and no real changes.
ADVERTISEMENT
Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports
Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports
Snyder’s job is to show damages and explain how much money teams lost because they weren’t free to compete. If the jury buys his math, the entire charter system, track contracts, and business structure could be on the table.
While Snyder was landing his points with data, Judge Kenneth Bell was trying to stop the trial from spiraling into chaos. Lawyers were filing objections at 2:00 a.m., 6:00 a.m., and all night. By morning, the judge had run out of patience.
ADVERTISEMENT
Judge Bell loses patience
Before the jury even took their seats, he called out both sides. He reminded them that the schedule was clear, the deadlines were not optional, and burying the court in filings before sunrise was not respectful to him or to the nine jurors who left their normal lives to sit through this case. When the jury eventually walked in, the first thirty minutes were wasted sorting out paperwork that should have been settled long before.
Once the jury stepped out again, Bell didn’t soften his tone. He warned that if this case drags to fifteen days instead of ten, the jury might “revolt.” He wasn’t being dramatic. He was making it clear that efficiency matters, and the court will not tolerate unnecessary delays.
Jeffrey Kessler said he expects to finish his side by Tuesday. Bell responded that he wants the schedule kept tight because the case is already at risk of ballooning.
ADVERTISEMENT
One day, the courtroom hears an economist explain why NASCAR looks like a monopoly using the league’s own internal communications. The next day, the judge is scolding lawyers for wasting time and pushing the jury to the limit. It’s the same case, but two kinds of pressure are closing in fast.
The jury is watching all of it. And when it is finally their turn to decide who is right, they will remember not just the evidence, but how this case was handled at every step.

December 19 — that’s the hard deadline Judge Kenneth Bell has given for the NASCAR lawsuit. He made it crystal clear he doesn’t want to let this trial drag a minute beyond it. Yet as Week 2 of one of the most consequential legal battles in NASCAR history kicked off, the pace inside the courtroom remained anything but urgent, and this has started to irk the jury.
23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are still working through their own witnesses, and NASCAR’s attorneys have already signaled they plan to take just as long, effectively “splitting the trial in half.” With both sides digging in, the end of the week no longer looks like a realistic finish line, which has led to frustration among Judge Bell and co.
ADVERTISEMENT
NASCAR lawsuit: Judge Bell issues a “revolt” warning
The second week of the NASCAR lawsuit trial opened with more frustration than momentum, as the case continued crawling forward with no sign of the headline witnesses taking the stand anytime soon. Jeffrey Kessler, representing 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, laid out the order he intends to follow.
Kessler has planned a lengthy financial analysis from an accountant, followed by testimony from NASCAR President Steve Phelps, then Hall of Fame team owner Richard Childress, and finally NASCAR chairman Jim France. But none of that is happening quickly enough for U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell.
Bell has warned both sides several times that they must accelerate the pace of the NASCAR lawsuit. And Monday only tested his patience further. The day started late after Bell had to handle a stack of filings submitted over the weekend, including objections arriving as early as 2:55 a.m. and 6:50 a.m. He spent an hour issuing rulings before testimony could resume, already pushing the schedule 30 minutes behind.
ADVERTISEMENT
Once the jury was dismissed for a break, Bell again made it clear that the trial cannot drift past his hard December 19 deadline. Kessler insisted he hopes to finish presenting his witnesses by Tuesday. However, the judge fired back that the jury would “revolt” if the case stretched to 15 days instead of 10.
ADVERTISEMENT
Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports
Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports
The morning finally wrapped up testimony from Jonathan Marshall, executive director of the Race Team Alliance, who spent a second day outlining the tense negotiations over NASCAR’s revenue model. Marshall revealed that just one week before NASCAR delivered its take-it-or-leave-it final offer to the teams, a preliminary version appeared acceptable: major team owners (Joe Gibbs, Rick Hendrick, and Roger Penske) had all indicated they were prepared to sign.
As the trial lurches forward, Bell’s warnings grow sharper, and the pressure increases on both sides to pick up the pace before the court’s patience and the calendar run out.
ADVERTISEMENT
Michael Jordan’s testimony sends shockwaves
Retired NBA great and 23XI co-owner, Michael Jordan, took the stand at the landmark NASCAR lawsuit Friday and delivered exactly the kind of moment the second week of the trial had been building toward. Testifying before a packed courtroom, Jordan explained that although he has been a fan of NASCAR since childhood, he ultimately felt he had no choice but to join the lawsuit pushing for sweeping changes to the sport’s business model.
Jordan held the jury’s attention for a full hour, his celebrity drawing quips from both Judge Kenneth Bell and even a defense attorney. But once he began describing why 23XI Racing chose to stand alongside Front Row Motorsports in challenging NASCAR, the tone grew serious. Delivering one of the NASCAR lawsuit trial’s most gripping lines, Jordan said:
“Someone had to step forward and challenge the entity. I sat in those meetings with longtime owners who were brow-beaten for so many years trying to make change. I was a new person, I wasn’t afraid. I felt I could challenge NASCAR as a whole. I felt as far as the sport, it needed to be looked at from a different view.”
ADVERTISEMENT
His testimony came immediately after dramatic moments from Heather Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing’s daughter-in-law, who detailed the intense, chaotic six-hour window during which teams were forced to sign an extension or risk losing their charters entirely. Jordan’s appearance only amplified the urgency surrounding those revelations.
Jordan praised NASCAR chairman Jim France personally, but he also made clear that the system France oversees needs a fundamental reset. He continued with another pointed statement that echoed across the courtroom:
“I’m not discrediting the things NASCAR has done for the sport but I’m pushing them to be better. The risk is to the drivers and the teams. The credit is not being given to the drivers who risk their lives every week without an insurance policy or union. There is nothing to benefit them.”
ADVERTISEMENT
His words struck at the heart of the lawsuit: the claim that teams operate on razor-thin margins, absorb disproportionate risks, and lack the protections and leverage seen in other major sports. Jordan’s testimony didn’t just raise eyebrows. It raised the stakes. And as Judge Bell continues urging both sides to speed up the trial, Michael Jordan ensured that the pressure, both legal and public, is now higher than ever.

It’s been a couple of weeks now that the Charlotte courtroom drama has been turning NASCAR inside out. What started as a charter fight between 23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports, and the France family has become a full-blown look at how the sport actually makes money and who gets to keep it. Every day brings new emails, new numbers, and new headaches for the folks in Daytona. Right now, it’s coming from an economist talking from the stands.
The plaintiff teams, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, seek their share of the damages, asking for a whopping $365 million from NASCAR. And as they revealed this massive figure, the senior sports economist then exposed how much more NASCAR can still pay them without going bankrupt.
ADVERTISEMENT
Edward Snyder says NASCAR could pay teams way more
The plaintiffs want $365 million in total for what they say they’ve lost under NASCAR’s alleged ‘anti-competitive’ rules. That’s a big number, but Edward Snyder claimed that even paying the teams $300 million a year on top of this won’t make NASCAR go bankrupt. It would just force them to share more fairly.
He used NASCAR’s own paperwork to show teams have been paid less than they’d get in any normal market. Every time someone inside the company talked about a breakaway league or more competition, it was always discouraged, and instead, the rules were tightened, and the tracks were locked to avoid losing anyone. To him, that’s textbook monopoly behavior: control everything so nobody else can play.
He lined NASCAR up next to the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS, even F1 and IndyCar. In those leagues, teams own a real piece of the pie, can build value, and can move if they want. In NASCAR, teams rent their spot, can’t race stock cars anywhere else, and watch most new money stay with the league. Edward Snyder called it suppressing competition off the track, not just managing it on the track.
ADVERTISEMENT
When lawyers tried the “we can’t afford it” defense, he shut it down. Three hundred million more a year to teams? NASCAR would feel it, but it wouldn’t go bankrupt. It would just have to run more like every other major sport and less like a private kingdom.
ADVERTISEMENT
Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports
Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports
That $365 million the teams want isn’t random either. It’s what 23XI and Front Row Motorsports say they lost because they couldn’t shop parts, couldn’t race elsewhere, couldn’t grow their charters like real assets. They’re not just asking for a check. They’re asking the court to make NASCAR treat them like partners instead of renters.
Edward Snyder’s job is to show damages, how much money teams lost because they weren’t free to compete. If the jury buys his math, the whole charter system, track deals, everything could be on the table. And the scary part for NASCAR is that he says they can pay it without the lights going out in Daytona.
The same trial that got Edward Snyder talking money is about to get a lot more personal.
ADVERTISEMENT
Richard Childress ready to tell his side
Richard Childress, six-time championship owner and NASCAR legend, is expected to take the stand soon. And everybody knows why he’s mad.
Leaked texts showed NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps calling Childress a redneck who “needs to be taken out back and flogged.” Those words came out in discovery and hit Childress hard. Now he gets his turn to talk under oath about how the charter talks really felt from the owner’s side.
ADVERTISEMENT
Childress is one of the old guard, the kind of guy who helped build the sport into what it is. Seeing his name dragged like that by the people running it today? That’s personal. His testimony could turn the heat up even more on a trial that’s already burning hot.
From Edward Snyder saying NASCAR can easily afford to pay teams better to Richard Childress getting ready to tell the jury exactly how it felt to be insulted by the top brass, the message is the same: the garage is tired of being told to be grateful for scraps.
Michael Jordan, Denny Hamlin, Bob Jenkins, and now maybe Childress are all saying the same thing in different ways. The France family built something huge, but the people who fill the cars every Sunday want a real seat at the table, not just a thank-you note and a charter that never grows.
ADVERTISEMENT
Edward Snyder says the money is there. Childress might just show the jury why the trust is gone.

A dramatic week befits a dramatic weekend. The 2025 Snowball Derby was clouded with inclement weather and track problems at Five Flags Speedway. That affected many drivers’ qualifying ambitions, including two-time Derby winner and NASCAR Cup Series driver Erik Jones. But another NASCAR driver not only made it into the Derby, but excelled – like 2024 Craftsman Truck champion Ty Majeski. However, he made sure to end the Derby festivities with a sensational touch.
Snowball Derby’s rules come under the spotlight
“I don’t know, I felt like I was being pretty consistent. I definitely jumped the first and the second. The rule is to pick up the pace to the line, but the rule, the way it is written, is not black and white, and leaves it open to balls and strikes. So, I don’t know what to say… I’d like to talk to race control and have a discussion. I feel like we won this race, and we’ll try and argue, of course,” Ty Majeski said after the conclusion of the 2025 Snowball Derby.
ADVERTISEMENT
In what fans expected to be 300 laps of sheer survival, Ty Majeski dominated. However, on the restart with 13 laps to go, he went on defense. Officials gave him a warning for jumping the first restart attempt – and then the black flag for jumping the second attempt. That allowed Stephen Nasse, who never actually crossed the line and finished behind Majeski, to capture the win unexpectedly.
So Ty Majeski whipped up a storm of protest in the Snowball Derby garage. According to journalist Matt Weaver’s X posts, he approached the people in tech, feeling incredulous that the win was stripped from him. He showed replays of the race’s last laps to prove his point and had conversations with individuals like Tim Bryant, Five Flags Speedway owner, and Scott Menlen.
ADVERTISEMENT
For Stephen Nasse, it marked his first Snowball Derby victory, ahead of post-race technical inspection. Nasse won the race on the track in 2019 but was disqualified for an illegal braking system. Dawson Sutton earned runner-up honors, and Jake Garcia charged from his 32nd starting spot to finish third. Kasey Kleyn and Jake Finch completed the top five. No other NASCAR driver could finish in the top ten, as Kyle Busch was the next-best bet with a 19th-place finish.
Ty Majeski’s ruckus may not ease out with a clear solution. Stay tuned for more updates!
ADVERTISEMENT

Erik Jones, a two-time Snowball Derby winner, was determined in 2025. However, rain battered Five Flags Speedway throughout the week, and that potentially derailed Jones’ plans. He could not make it in the Last Chance Qualifier, coming up one position short in 5th place. As it turns out, this is not the only NASCAR star who experienced heartbreak. The 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion will also need to nurse his wounds after the event.
Snowball Derby turns a deaf ear
“Race director Nicholas Rogers says the black flag decision is final and they will look at re-writing the rule for next year. Ty Majeski says he doesn’t care about next year and this is about $50,000 and now there’s a black cloud over the race,” journalist Matt Weaver updated on X.
ADVERTISEMENT
Ty Majeski had dominated the 300-lap Snowball Derby race until twin controversial restarts popped up with 13 laps to go. Officials issued a warning the first time, but waved the black flag on the second. So although Majeski finished way ahead of Stephen Nasse, the latter bagged the Tom Dawson trophy and $50,000. This unfortunate climax left Majeski so tattered that he desperately protested the race results.
Sadly, however, Snowball Derby director Nicholas Rogers turned down that protest. When the black flag was presented, there were still 8 laps left. And officials would have to stop scoring the No. 91, as Majeski stayed on track and raced Nasse to the finish. That is what made things more complicated, and as Matt Weaver wrote, the race director indirectly admitted to his fault, as he vowed to change the rules for next year.
ADVERTISEMENT
Stephen Nasse became the first driver without a NASCAR resume since Derek Thorn in 2022 to win the non-NASCAR-sanctioned race. He is also only the second non-NASCAR driver to win the race since 2020. Majeski’s fellow Craftsman Truck Series drivers Dawson Sutton and Jake Garcia would finish second and third behind Nasse. The other trendsetting finishers include David Gilliland in 12th, Derek Kraus in 17th, Kyle Busch in 19th, and Kaden Honeycutt in 26th. Ty Majeski washed up in 23rd place.
“I don’t know. I feel like we won this race. Had the best car all day and yeah, going to try and argue it, of course.” As we all know, Ty Majeski could not succeed in his argument. However, fans are not happy about it.
ADVERTISEMENT
Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports
Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports
Fans bash officials over dramatic finish
The controversy whipped up a storm among fans, who pointed out the arbitrary nature of the Snowball Derby. Although Ty Majeski could not succeed in his protest, the Snowball Derby officials acknowledged a shortcoming. One fan wrote, “So the race director admitted that there is a problem but still upholding the black flag…… please make this make sense.” Somebody else chimed with this sentiment: “We’re gonna re-write the rule” is absolutely not the thing to say right now. That’s practically an admission that they’ve made the wrong call. Yeesh.”
Tim Bryant, the owner of Five Flags Speedway, was also seen listening to Ty Majeski’s qualms. So another fan pleaded with Bryant to do something drastic about the situation. “Tim Bryant needs to dismiss Nicholas Rogers after that embarrassment to short track racing.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Somebody else compared the 2025 Snowball Derby fallout with the 2021 Abu Dhabi F1 scandal. Race director Michael Masi had allowed only a partial number of lapped cars to unlap themselves before the restart, a highly controversial move. “Welcome to the American version of the Abu Dhabi scandal,” the fan wrote.
What’s more, this is not the first controversy for the Snowball Derby. Back in 2019, Stephen Nasse officially won the race but was disqualified due to a brake issue, handing Ty Majeski the win. This time, the situation has flipped. So a fan wrote, “This race loses it prestige every year. I wouldn’t come back if I was Ty.”
Clearly, the Snowball Derby scandal is making waves in the community. Let’s wait and see how Ty Majeski processes the results and prepares for a good comeback next year.

The NASCAR lawsuit’s basis was financial. After 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports refused to sign the charter deal in October 2024, they decided to go nuclear. Michael Jordan and Co. filed the lawsuit, claiming NASCAR indulged in ‘monopolistic practices’ with exclusivity clauses in its premier stock car racing series. And the second week of the lawsuit’s trial shed light on precisely that – with NASCAR’s defense showering attacks on a key witness.
Michael Jordan’s scholar witness gets a rebuttal
“NASCAR has started trying to chip away at the testimony of team expert Edward Snyder, with Larry Buterman suggesting Snyder incorrectly told the jury that F1 doesn’t have non-compete clauses with teams and incorrectly said that NASCAR started paying tracks for exclusivity in ’16,” journalist Adam Stern wrote on X. “@NASCAR lawyer Larry Buterman has spent the afternoon trying to get team expert economist Edward Snyder to admit that comparing NASCAR to F1 is offbase, that he didn’t prepare thoroughly and that he’s not enough of an expert on teams or tracks to form the basis of his testimony.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Dr. Edward Snyder, the former dean of business schools at Yale University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Virginia, took the witness stand on Monday morning. He made a case for Michael Jordan and Co. by exposing financial truths. Using a complex formula, Snyder came up with the damages owed to 23XI and FRM – $364.7 million. While sharing this figure, he also claimed that if NASCAR paid $300 million more to each team per year, the sport might go bankrupt.
Snyder also talked about a 45% revenue sharing that he alleged Formula 1 gives to its teams in his calculation. The economist found that NASCAR’s revenue-sharing model, when its charter system began in 2016, gave only 25% to the teams. In contention, NASCAR’s own two experts took serious issue with the findings of Michael Jordan’s witness. Snyder has previously testified in more than 30 cases, including “Deflategate” involving the NFL’s New England Patriots.
ADVERTISEMENT
Among his claims, Snyder also pointed to NASCAR’s control over the three elements of the sport: racetracks, race teams, and race cars. And he shed light on how NASCAR has taken steps to “reduce the likelihood and viability of entry” from a competitor series, which thus caused financial harm to the teams beyond 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports.
“To me, as an economist, this situation bothers me,” Snyder said of the car usage restriction. “Team owners are building the car. They technically own the car, and it’s their most important piece of equipment. But they cannot use it outside of NASCAR. That’s anti-competitive.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports
Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports
With Michael Jordan’s scholar witness heating up the case, another witness also added fuel.
The chance for a breakaway series
In his testimony, Dr. Edward Snyder noted one internal NASCAR document listing strategy options to combat a potential breakaway league. Not only did the sport lack a ‘pay the teams more’ option, but it also sealed such a possibility for a rival league. Also on the witness stand on Monday was Jonathan Marshall, executive director of the Race Team Alliance, a consortium of the 13 charter-holding teams. He spoke about the group examining starting up a rival racing series called the United States Racing League.
ADVERTISEMENT
However, soon after the charter system’s introduction in 2016, NASCAR had started buying up racetracks. So, a lack of high-quality tracks that weren’t already locked into exclusivity agreements with NASCAR posed a major challenge to the RTA’s aspirations. Marshall said starting a rival series was deemed a way to create leverage amid the chaotic negotiations leading to the 2024 charter deal. This was part of the evidence presented to the jury last week about NASCAR’s exclusivity agreements.
Evidently, the NASCAR lawsuit is picking up in intensity. Let’s wait and see what unfolds in the following days.

The 2025 season ended on a lackluster note for Carson Hocevar. The sophomore NASCAR Cup Series driver clinched just 2 top fives and 9 top tens, missing short of a victory more than once. Similarly, another driver in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series also could not capitalize on an otherwise consistent season. But despite the similarity in the two drivers’ seasons, Hocevar did not sympathize with the other driver’s continued misery at the Snowball Derby.
Carson Hocevar shrugs off Derby protest
“You can clearly see it launch before the line. his car was so dominant. bottom lane on every restart dominant. why even jump it once let alone twice,” Carson Hocevar wrote in response to Ty Majeski’s late-race mishap at the Snowball Derby. “He just said he jumped it first time. and then said he rolled speed to the restart box. I mean if the rule is the restart he definitely went early and was just trying to anticipate the 51 jumping it. his word. too dominant of a car to put it in their hands like that.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Ty Majeski dominated most of the 300-lap Snowball Derby on Monday. But he clearly jumped a restart with 13 laps left. Race officials issued a warning to him the first time. The second time, though, the verdict was a little blurry – Majeski started solid, but it was questionable with his No. 91 blazing out front. That was where Carson Hocevar contended with a race fan about Majeski’s wrongdoing.
“You can see him point down the hill and go just before the line. i mean it’s close but he just burned the mulligan,” Carson Hocevar wrote on X while posting the exact moment when Ty Majeski jumped the restart.
ADVERTISEMENT
The officials waved a black flag for the second mishap with 8 laps left, although Majeski went on to cross the line first. Though Majeski finished well in front of the No. 51, Stephen Nasse captured the win in his 15th career try at the Derby. Soon after, the 2024 Craftsman Truck Series champion filed an official protest, trying to strike sympathy among race officials. However, his complaint did not work, as race director Nicholas Rogers went ahead with the results.
Carson Hocevar refuted Ty Majeski’s distressed protests with his point of view. In his own super late model venture, Hocevar was relaxed.
ADVERTISEMENT
Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports
Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports
Counting the experience over the result
Although Carson Hocevar did not enroll for the 2025 Snowball Derby, he was not idle. The Spire Motorsports driver took his talents to the Gateway Dirt Nationals. He had run one of winter’s most anticipated dirt showcases once before, finishing twelfth in 2022. Hocevar returned this year with an equal if not higher level of enthusiasm. After the race, he observed how much he enjoyed being surrounded by familiar faces, describing the garage as a reunion of sorts.
“These are a lot of my NASCAR guys or guys in the shop that grew up doing this that they get to go have fun with Jeff and then Tim Kloss,” he said. Carson Hocevar continued about how the results did not bother him. “Just having real racing or just not a lot of aero or engineering, I’m not looking at laptops and data, and you’re looking at flow, try to figure out what lane works everything.”
ADVERTISEMENT
For Carson Hocevar, the Gateway scene was a place where drivers could race freely. Free from the data-heavy, aerodynamic restraints of a Cup car, racers can explore their potential with ease. He even called dirt racing the “real racing” he craves in the off-season. The unfiltered nature of the dirt racing competition tingles his senses. And that is what Hocevar values above everything else.
Carson Hocevar has a distinct purpose in dirt racing. And it does not match that of Ty Majeski, left nursing his wounds after the Snowball Derby.