Leigh Diffey has been in NASCAR fans’ living rooms for years, calling everything from photo finishes at Talladega to playoff chaos under the lights at Phoenix. Whether it’s IndyCar, IMSA, NASCAR, or even Olympic track, he has a way of making a moment feel bigger than the screen it’s broadcast on. When he’s locked in, and the field is door-to-door, his energy sounds like racing distilled into words.
But even the best have off days. Last year, Diffey had the kind of broadcasting nightmare nobody wants: he called the wrong winner in the Olympic 100-meter final. Live TV, cameras rolling, millions watching, and the call went out early.
He apologized immediately and owned it, but clips like that don’t disappear on the internet. For some NASCAR fans already skeptical of “outside voices” coming into the booth, it only added fuel. The takes came fast: “washed,” “lost his touch,” “not clutch when it matters.” Fair or not, the narrative stuck.
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So when chaos erupted in the 2025 Supercars Championship, a surprising group was watching closely: American NASCAR fans.
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Because that championship looked awfully familiar. Broc Feeney dominated the season. Fourteen wins, pole after pole, consistency that made the rest of the field look like background noise. Then the playoff-style format reset the points, one bad weekend flipped everything, and Chaz Mostert walked out with the official title.
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Sound familiar? It should. NASCAR fans have been arguing for a decade about dominant seasons being erased by one late caution, one restart, or one pit call. So when Feeney showed up at the season-ending gala and still won the Jim Richards Award for best overall driver and the Barry Sheene Medal for fan and media MVP, a lot of American fans felt déjà vu. The people who watched every lap said Feeney was the guy. The format said otherwise.
That’s when Leigh Diffey did something nobody expected. He saw Red Bull Ampol Racing’s post congratulating Feeney on his awards and simply quote-tweeted it with three words: “The real champion!”
No hedging. No corporate finesse. No polite neutrality. Just a call that picked a side and shook both continents. NASCAR fans on X immediately lost it.
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Fans gave Leigh Diffey a standing ovation
One guy summed it up: “Leigh Diffey is the GOAT commentator for a reason.” Another went full caps-lock: “Holy sh*t, the only person in mainstream media to support the true champion, unlike the pigs in the trough.” Harsh, but you could feel the relief. Finally, somebody with a big microphone said the quiet part out loud.
NASCAR fans jumped in: “Imma need you to bring this same energy to the 2026 NASCAR season.” Because we all know the feeling. We’ve watched a driver dominate thirty-five races just to lose the title because a caution fell wrong on the last night. When Diffey looked at Feeney’s season and called him the real champion, every American fan who’s ever screamed at a playoff finish felt seen.
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The love kept pouring in. “I knew I liked you for a reason, Leigh.” Simple, sweet, and probably the best thing you can hear after taking heat for a year. People remember the Olympic mistake, but also the passion in his voice when the cars are side-by-side on the last lap. Three little words just reminded everyone why they turn the volume up when he’s on the call.
Of course, someone had to challenge him: “Now say the same about NASCAR, Leigh. Win your credibility back in the SERIES YOU WORK FOR.” Fair play.
Leigh Diffey makes his living in the NBC Cup Series booth. If he’s brave enough to call the Supercars emperor naked, fans want that same fire when the Cup trophy gets handed out because of a green-white-checkered. Do it once or twice, and the Olympic clip becomes ancient history.
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At the end of the day, Diffey didn’t start the argument; he just picked the lane most fans were already driving in. Chaz Mostert is the champion on paper and always will be. Broc Feeney is the guy who looked fastest every weekend and took home the awards that actually measure exactly that. Diffey looked at both trophies, shrugged, and said who he thought deserved the big one.
Three words, zero apologies, and suddenly half the motorsport world is ready to run through a wall for Leigh Diffey again. Sometimes all it takes is someone willing to say what everybody else is thinking.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin outlined the precarious situation facing NASCAR teams, testifying Tuesday in the federal antitrust trial against the stock car series that the race team he co-owns spent more than $700,000 to the series in 2022 alone and how agreeing to its charter proposal last fall would have been like signing his own “death certificate.”
Hamlin was the first witness called when testimony began Monday in the antitrust case brought by 23XI Racing, which is owned by Hamlin and Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, and Front Row Motorsports, owned by fast-food franchiser Bob Jenkins. The two teams contend that NASCAR is a monopoly that has handcuffed teams with a no-win revenue model.
Hamlin returned to the stand for more than three hours and was asked about line items in 23XI Racing’s budget. He noted how more than $703,000 three years ago was spent on costs to NASCAR ranging from entry fees, credentials for team members to enter the track and even access to Internet signals. He also said he and Jordan spent $100 million to build 23XI and “all it takes is one sponsor to go away and all our profit is gone.”
All 15 of NASCAR’s teams had been vocal for over two years that the last charter agreement made it impossible for them to turn a profit and they demanded four changes in prolonged negotiations. When the final offer came from NASCAR and lacked most of what the teams asked for, 23XI and Front Row refused to sign and instead sued.
23XI has turned a profit in all but one of its five seasons, but its financial success is largely a product of Jordan’s star power drawing top-dollar sponsors. Plaintiffs’ attorney Jeffery Kessler told the jury Monday that a NASCAR-commissioned study found that 75% of teams lost money in 2024.
Hamlin testified that the TV deal NASCAR signed ahead of the 2025 season has not been a boon to race teams because of a shift toward streaming services and big-ticket sponsors want to be on television. He also referred to a meeting with NASCAR chairman Jim France, who indicated teams are spending too much and it should only cost $10 million per car. Hamlin testified it costs $20 million.
“We cannot cut more. Tell me how to get my investment back? He had no answer,” Hamlin said.
As for refusing to sign the charter agreements last fall, Hamlin said the last-ditch proposal from NASCAR “had eight points minimum that needed to be changed. When we pointed that out we were told ‘Negotiations are closed.’”
“I didn’t sign because I knew this was my death certificate for the future,” he said, later adding: “I have spent 20 years trying to make this sport grow as a driver and for the last five years as a team owner. 23XI is doing our part. You can’t have someone treat you this unfairly and I knew It wasn’t right. They were wrong and someone needed to be held accountable.”
Under cross-examination, Hamlin was asked why he paints a rosier picture of NASCAR on podcast appearances. He replied that he is regurgitating NASCAR talking points because any negative comments can lead to retribution.
“You can take all my things out of context and paint a picture that everything is fine,” he said. “The reality is, (being) negative affects me in (technical inspection), getting called to the hauler, NASCAR not liking what I said.”
The trial is expected to last two weeks.
NASCAR is owned and operated by the Florida-based France family, which founded the series in 1948. Kessler said over a three-year period almost $400 million was paid to the France Family Trust and a 2023 evaluation by Goldman Sachs found NASCAR to be worth $5 billion. The pretrial discovery process revealed NASCAR made more than $100 million in 2024, while Jenkins testified in a deposition he has lost $60 million over the last decade and $100 million since starting his team in 2004.
NASCAR contends it is doing nothing wrong and has not restrained trade or commerce by its teams. The series says the original charters were given for free to teams when the system was created in 2016 and the demand for them created a market of $1.5 billion in equity for chartered organizations.
Hamlin countered that 11 of the original 19 chartered organizations are out of business; all three of 23XI’s charters came from teams that ceased operations. NASCAR also said each chartered car now receives a guaranteed $12.5 million in annual revenue, up from $9 million. Hamlin testified it costs $20 million to bring a single car to the track for all 38 races and that figure does not include any overhead, operating costs or a driver’s salary.

All Times Eastern
NASCAR CUP SERIES
Season Wrap: Kyle Larson secured his second NASCAR Cup Series championship while taking advantage of a late caution that allowed him to overtake Denny Hamlin in overtime. Larson’s victory marks the 15th Cup title for Hendrick Motorsports and coincides with the 30th anniversary of Jeff Gordon delivering Hendrick its first championship.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES
Season Wrap: In only his second year of racing, Jesse Love claimed his first Xfinity Series championship after passing Connor Zilisch in the final laps at Phoenix Raceway.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES
Season Wrap: Corey Heim set a season record for wins with his 12th victory coming in the series finale at Phoenix. Heim had a dominant season in which he extended the record for laps led to more than 1,500.
Online: http://www.nascar.com
FORMULA 1
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Site: Abu Dhabi
Track: Yas Marina Circuit
Race distance: 58 laps, 190.2 miles.
Schedule: Friday, practice, 4:30 a.m., sprint qualifying, 8 a.m.; Saturday, sprint race, 5:30 a.m., qualifying, 9 a.m.; Sunday, race, 8 a.m. (ESPN).
Last year: Avoiding an early-race collision between Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris managed to win the season-ender and seal the constructors’ title for the McLaren team.
Last race: Max Verstappen kept his title hopes alive in Qatar, taking the win after a lap-7 safety car and strategic pit for tires that helped him pull clear of the McLarens.
Online: http://www.formula1.com
INDYCAR
Season Wrap: Alex Palou won his third consecutive series championship, securing the title in four of the last five seasons.
Online: http://www.indycar.com
NHRA DRAG RACING
Season has concluded.
Online: http://www.nhra.com
WORLD OF OUTLAWS
Season has concluded.
Online: http://worldofoutlaws.com
_____
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/apf-AutoRacing
Copyright © 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

The Charlotte courtroom was already humming when Denny Hamlin took the stand. Everyone expected a few hours of charter talk and lawyer-speak. Instead, they got fireworks, sarcasm, and one bombshell text message that had jaws dropping.
By the time NASCAR’s attorney dropped line after line of tough questions, the room felt more like a Sunday showdown at Bristol than a federal antitrust trial.
Denny Hamlin goes scorched earth on NASCAR
NASCAR’s lawyer Lawrence Buterman came out swinging, throwing everything from driver contracts to revenue splits at Hamlin. Every time Buterman tried to paint 23XI as hypocritical for having its own exclusivity rules, Denny Hamlin fired right back with one sentence.
“We’re not a monopoly, you are.”
He said it so many times it almost became the chorus of the day.
When Buterman brought up the September 6 letter explaining why 23XI wouldn’t sign the charter deal, Hamlin didn’t flinch. He called NASCAR’s so-called concessions “small tweaks” and ripped the seven-year flat payout as ridiculous.
“You force us to buy all the cars and parts, but we don’t own any of it. How stupid is that?” he said.
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He compared it to renting a house forever, while the landlord keeps raising the rent and never lets you paint the walls.
The Team Owner Council got the same treatment. Hamlin called it window dressing.
“Anytime they feel threatened, they create a committee to make it look collaborative, but there’s no vote, no veto, no power.”
He even joked they could make teams race in Dubai tomorrow, and nobody could stop them.
Then came the Driver Ambassador Program. Hamlin admitted it puts money in his pocket but said he hates it anyway because it forces teams to loan their stars to NASCAR’s sponsors and give up forty percent of the cash.
Buterman tried a cheap shot, asking, “So you don’t want drivers to get paid?”
Hamlin smiled and shut it down. “Teams pay drivers, not NASCAR. And most drivers don’t win the number of races I do.”
The real gasp came when Buterman pulled up a text where Hamlin asked Michael Jordan to find someone to buy him out of 23XI. You could hear the air leave the room. But Hamlin didn’t panic. He explained that the reason he said that was because he wanted the success or failure of 23XI to depend on his own terms, and not under somebody’s control.
And that frustrated request to ‘buy him out’ was just his way to make the team owners realize the seriousness of it and get their attention. Which he eventually got, as Hamlin mentioned that they eventually ‘figured it out’. It was just a normal disagreement, the kind every partnership has.
End of story. Still, the fact that the text existed at all had everyone wondering what else happened behind those closed doors.
The same week Hamlin was battling lawyers in Charlotte, his fiancée Jordan Fish reminded everyone there’s a softer side to the story.
From courtroom drama to delivery room comedy
Back in June, Fish gave birth to their son Jameson Drew, and the way she tells it, the whole thing played out like a feel-good movie.
Taylor took fifty minutes, Molly took nine, so Jordan figured Jameson would be quick too. Nope. She started pushing at 10:10 a.m., and the little guy took his sweet time, finally arriving at 1:53 p.m. after some complications. The nurses rolled in a mirror so she could watch, and Hamlin turned into the world’s most attentive coach, handing out water, applying lip balm, keeping the mood light.
At one point, he asked how her lips were feeling. Jordan Fish, high on every drug known to medicine, cracked, “Which ones?” The entire room lost it—nurses, doctor, everybody. She said it felt like a sitcom scene she wished someone had filmed. Jameson came out eight pounds four ounces, healthy and perfect, and big sisters Taylor and Molly haven’t stopped hugging him since.
Hamlin even skipped the Mexico race to be there, proof that no matter how heated the courtroom gets or how big the fight with NASCAR becomes, some things still come first. One day, he’s telling a federal jury the sport is broken, the next, he’s putting lip balm on his fiancée and laughing through labor. Same guy, two very different battles, and somehow he’s still standing in the middle of both.

The NASCAR lawsuit between 23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports, and NASCAR entered Day 2 with long hours of tense testimony, as Denny Hamlin explained why his team chose to take the league to court.
Hamlin, who co-owns 23XI with Michael Jordan, walked the courtroom through financial numbers, past conversations with NASCAR leadership, and the reasons he believes the current system makes long-term team growth almost impossible.
He said the 2025 charter proposal would leave 23XI in a dangerous spot, and he described a tight financial picture that gives teams little room to survive. His answers stayed firm and detailed as lawyers pressed him on past comments and internal team practices.
Denny Hamlin Calls 2025 Charter Agreement a “Death Certificate”
Hamlin told the court that the proposed 2025 charter deal would put 23XI at major risk. The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi report Hamlin calling the offer “essentially my (team’s) death certificate for the future,” saying the team would “not… in business if we sign this (within) 10 years.” He argued that the current system pays teams a fixed amount instead of giving them a set share of growing media revenue. In his view, that structure benefits NASCAR and the France family, while teams continue to face rising costs each season.
Hamlin also described a 2023 meeting with NASCAR chairman Jim France that left him “very, very discouraged.” According to Hamlin, France said the “problem in NASCAR is teams spend too much money and suggested that teams should operate on around $10 million per year. Hamlin told the court that this does not match real-life team spending needs, saying, “We’ve cut this grass so short, we’re down to the dirt.”
Financial Pressure Takes Center Stage in the NASCAR Lawsuit
Hamlin explained that 23XI runs with a small 2.26 percent profit margin. He said he owes Michael Jordan tens of millions of dollars in loans tied to team operations and buildings. When NASCAR’s attorney, Lawrence Buterman, asked why the teams were seeking $205 million in damages, Hamlin replied, “We want to be made whole for what you guys did to us.”
Autoweek’s Deb Williams wrote, “In testimony today, Denny Hamlin said he filed the antitrust suit against NASCAR because ‘it’s time for a change. “
NASCAR attorney showed examples of Hamlin praising NASCAR’s business model and the Next Gen car, including comments from the Kenny Wallace podcast. Hamlin said those comments did not reflect what he truly believed, explaining, “All my public (comments) are out of context… You give me talking points, I say it to make fans feel happy.”
Racing America’s Toby Christie reported a similar exchange. “When pressed on why he didn’t say anything negative about the Next Gen car on the Kenny Wallace podcast, Hamlin said, because if he says anything negative about NASCAR, he gets a lashing. So, when he speaks publicly, he delivers the positive talking points that they give him.”
NASCAR Questions 23XI’s Own Internal Choices
NASCAR attorney argued that 23XI uses restrictive practices too, pointing to attempts to “lock up” Corey Heim, paying drivers a smaller revenue share than NASCAR pays teams, and putting Riley Herbst under an exclusivity clause.
Hamlin replied, “We are not a monopoly. The driver has options. That’s the difference. It’s not anti-competitive if the driver has options.”
His point was that drivers can move to other teams, while NASCAR controls the entire top level of the sport.

Three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin took the stand on Monday, December 1, in his company’s antitrust case against NASCAR, breaking down in tears during his emotional testimony.
“We got to when I was about 20 and a decision had to be made, I could keep racing or go out and work for my dad’s trailer business,” Hamlin, 45, testified in court after he was asked how he got into racing.
He told the Associated Press in October that his father, Dennis Hamlin, is battling “serious illness” at age 75 and that 2025 would be his last chance to see Denny win the NASCAR Cup Series. Denny is widely viewed as the greatest driver in the sport’s history to never win the Cup.
“I know for a fact this is my last chance for my dad to see it. I don’t want him going and never getting to see the moment,” he said before the final race of the season.
Denny finished sixth at Phoenix Raceway, securing a second-place Cup finish behind Kyle Larson. He later revealed on a November episode of his “Actions Detrimental with Denny Hamlin” podcast that he can’t bring himself to watch the video of his dad cheering him on from home.
“Yeah, he was fine, very supportive,” Hamlin said. “He didn’t like the outcome, but I think he was still okay with the result. You know, he said to me, just like a lot of people say, he’s like, ‘I don’t know what to say. What am I supposed to say?’ He’s like, ‘You had it. You did it. You just don’t have the trophy.”
A little over a month after his season ended, Denny was in a Charlotte, North Carolina, courtroom representing 23XI Racing, which he co-owns with NBA legend Michael Jordan. 23XI and Front Row Motorsports are suing NASCAR, accusing the auto racing giant of acting as a monopoly based on “exclusivity clauses, ownership of most of the race tracks on the Cup schedule, and its control of the rules and regulations,” according to the AP.
Denny told the court that his father is “not in great health” and detailed the sacrifices his family made to allow him to pursue his racing dreams. He previously told the AP that Dennis took out multiple mortgages on the family’s Virginia home and maxed out his credit cards to help Denny break into NASCAR.
“He was just so happy and he always tells me I’m the best, no matter if I win or not, he always says I’m the best,” Denny said in October. “He’s a big hype guy and I sat in his garage and talked with him, he’s got all my old memorabilia and it’s just good to reminisce. He’s a reminiscent guy and right now I am just cherishing those hours that I have with them each week.”
Going into that final race, Larson, 33, said that if he couldn’t win the Cup, he would like to see Denny do it for his dad.
“I could see how [his dad] absolutely gives extra motivation, and I think sympathy goes a long way,” he said. “It’s not going to stop me from wanting to beat him, but there’s a lot of reasons a Denny Hamlin championship would feel good.”

The second day of the NASCAR Anti-Trust Trial in Federal Court in Charlotte, North Carolina included 23XI co-owner Denny Hamlin saying signing the NASCAR Charter Agreement would have been like signing his own “death certificate.” Also, NASCAR Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer Scott Prime compared how LIV Golf disrupted golf and NASCAR was fearful of the same happening to stock car racing.
At times, the cross-examination was “contentious” according to the Associated Press.
Two NASCAR teams including 23XI co-owned by former NBA legend Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, and Front Row Motorsports are suing NASCAR over monopolistic practices and violation of anti-trust laws.
Tuesday’s Trial Testimony Begins With Denny Hamlin On The Stand
Hamlin spent a second day on the stand, including more than three hours on Tuesday, December 2. During the testimony, Hamlin revealed he makes approximately $14 million a year from Joe Gibbs Racing and emphasized how his co-ownership in 23XI Racing is an investment into the future of NASCAR.
According to The AP, Hamlin testified he is the 40 percent owner of 23XI and has invested $45 million into the team. During cross examination, Hamlin testified he has put in more than $10 million and the rest are though loans.
Hamlin and Jordan created 23XI Racing in 2021 and he projected a $900,000 profit in the first year. The team made more than $3 million in 2023 and built a $35 million shop that opened in 2024. NASCAR attorneys contended the budget for the shop was $9 million to $10 million and the team’s spending was “egregious”, according to the AP. Hamlin said the original budget was “pre-COVID” and did not include everything inside the facility.
NASCAR’s Cross-Examination
During cross-examination, NASCAR attorney Lawrence Buterman asked why 23XI Racing wanted $205 million in damages when emails showed a 10 percent return on investment. Buterman also said Hamlin told Jordan that the NASCAR Charter System and its Next Gen car made it a great time to invest in NASCAR but now claim it is part of NASCAR’s monopoly.
Hamlin and his attorney compared the charters to renting an apartment because both expire. Buterman fired back believing it was an unfair comparison because a home that is being rented can’t be sold by the renter, but the holder of a NASCAR charter can sell it.
Other major details that were revealed so far in court includes Hamlin saying it costs $20 million to run one race car per season. NASCAR CEO Jim France has said it should cost only $10 million a year, according to The AP.
Hamlin testified that he had a meeting with NASCAR Chairman Jim France and was told the teams are spending too much money and it should cost $10 million, not $20 million per year.
“We cannot cut more. Tell me how to get my investment back? He had no answer,” Hamlin said.
Also, $100 million is how much Hamlin said he and Jordan have spent on 23XI Racing since September 2020. During the pretrial discovery process, NASCAR made $100 million in 2024. That is also the amount Front Row Motorsports has lost since starting a NASCAR team in 2004, according to team owner Bob Jenkins, the other plaintiff in this lawsuit.
In 2023, Goldman Sachs evaluated NASCAR value at $5 billion, according to 23XI attorney Jeffrey Kessler.
NASCAR’s Prime Testimony
Scott Prime is NASCAR’s Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer. He took the stand on Tuesday and was grilled by Kessler, according to Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports.
The plaintiffs believe NASCAR actions such as enforcing tracks with “exclusivity agreements, underpaying teams and putting intellectual property patents on its race teams to make them unusable elsewhere.”
Hamlin also testified that $703,000 three years ago was spent on costs to NASCAR ranging from entry fees, credentials for team members to enter the track and even access to Internet signals.
“All it takes is one sponsor to go away and all our profit is gone,” Hamlin said.
Background To The Charter Agreement And How It Led To a Trial
All 15 of NASCAR’s teams had been vocal for over two years that the last charter agreement made it impossible for them to turn a profit, and they demanded four changes in prolonged negotiations. When the final offer came from NASCAR and lacked most of what the teams asked for, 23XI and Front Row refused to sign and instead sued.
Ironically, 23XI has turned a profit in all but one of its five seasons, but much of that financial success is largely a product of Jordan’s star power drawing big-time sponsors. Kessler told the jury Monday that a NASCAR-commissioned study found that 75 percent of teams lost money in 2024.
Hamlin testified that the TV deal NASCAR signed ahead of the 2025 season has not been a boon to race teams because of a shift toward streaming services and big-ticket sponsors want to be on television.
NASCAR Charters And 23XI’s Technical Alliance With JGR
Other important details include 23XI pays Joe Gibbs Racing $8 million a year for its technical alliance and 23XI employs 140 people. The partnership with fellow Toyota team JGR includes putting the bodies on the car and other crucial information.
Hamlin testified that 23XI Racing has paid a total of $46.2 million for three successive NASCAR Cup Series Charters. Those Charters are now in limbo as 23XI did not sign the Charter Agreement in 2024.
Hamlin stressed the last proposal from NASCAR “had eight points minimum that needed to be changed. When we pointed that out, we were told ‘Negotiations are closed.’
“I didn’t sign because I knew this was my death certificate for the future,” he said, later adding: “I have spent 20 years trying to make this sport grow as a driver and for the last five years as a team owner. 23XI is doing our part. You can’t have someone treat you this unfairly and I knew It wasn’t right. They were wrong and someone needed to be held accountable.”
Hamlin’s Fear Of Retribution
Under cross-examination, Hamlin was asked why he portrayed NASCAR in a positive manner on podcast appearances. He replied he repeated NASCAR talking points because any negative comments can lead to retribution.
“You can take all my things out of context and paint a picture that everything is fine,” Hamlin said. “The reality is, (being) negative affects me in (technical inspection), getting called to the hauler, NASCAR not liking what I said.”
NASCAR Statement On Day 2
NASCAR released the following statement at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, December 2. Below is the statement in its entirety:
“Today’s testimony confirmed that 23XI Racing purchased from another team a Charter, Denny Hamlin signed it agreeing to all of its contractual terms, got paid every penny due under the 2016 Charter – and now they want to claim they should receive a 900 percent return for supposed damages under the 2016 Charter.
“Most of the testimony focused on the two-and-a-half-year negotiation over the 2025 Charter which 23XI and Front Row Motorsports did not sign. They made a choice to forfeit their Charters instead of signing them as 32 Charter holders did.
“The 2016 agreement was itself a multi-year negotiated agreement that delivered many fundamental wins for race teams, including guaranteed starting position in every race, contractually secured payments of over $300 million a year to teams and a valuable long-term asset they can buy, sell, or lease at will – as Front Row has done on several occasions. 23XI and Front Row both kept buying Charters at ever-increasing prices even though they now say that the 2016 Charters were unfair to the teams.
“Based on witness testimony and exhibits entered into evidence today, several key points about Denny Hamlin and 23XI were revealed:
“23XI has been profitable and the owners continue to do well financially:
“Mr. Hamlin alone is making $14 million by driving for Joe Gibbs Racing.
“Mr. Hamlin and Mr. Jordan are charging their own team $1 million in rent for their $35 million Airspeed facility.
“23XI made profits of approximately $2.5 million in 2022 and $3.4 million in 2023, before the team began paying rent last year for the Airspeed facility owned by Mr. Hamlin and Mr. Jordan and paying legal fees for this litigation.
“23XI spent $28 million to acquire a third charter in 2024 after acquiring two charters for $13.5 million (2021) and $4.7 million (2020).
“According to Plaintiffs’ own expert, 23XI was worth at least $160.2 million just four years after it began racing.
“Mr. Hamlin made it clear he ‘took care of his people,’ but 23XI pays its drivers only approximately 22 percent of its revenues even though its counsel pointed out that athletes get paid far more on a percentage basis in other sports.
“Exhibits also showed Mr. Hamlin’s business partners believe he is an elite driver but was a cost control problem for 23XI.
“When Mr. Hamlin pitched Mr. Jordan on building a team, he projected a 10 percent ROI. And now, 23XI’s owners want at least $205 million in damages, a 900 percent return on investment (ROI). His comments on the witness stand show he believes that NASCAR should subsidize their racing operations while they keep all their own sponsorship revenues.
“Mr. Hamlin acknowledged that none of the alleged anticompetitive claims brought in his lawsuit against NASCAR were raised during negotiations for the 2025 charters, including in the 8-point letter that was the subject of much of today’s events.”
The NASCAR Anti-Trust Trial is expected to last for two weeks and will resume on Wednesday, December 3.

NASCAR used Denny Hamlin’s own words against him Tuesday to paint the picture that what he has stated about the sport doesn’t match what he’s accusing them of in the ongoing antitrust lawsuit.
Hamlin began the day on the witness stand to pick up where he left off Monday during the opening day of the 23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports versus NASCAR battle. It took less than half an hour for Hamlin to finish answering questions from one of the team’s attorneys, during which he pointed out financial numbers, including the team’s NASCAR expenses of $703,000 for entry fees, licenses, testing, internet, and data.
“We get charged for the WIFI at the racetrack,” Hamlin quipped.
It was during this part of Hamlin’s testimony that he explained NASCAR Cup Series teams had been telling NASCAR for years they were struggling. Hamlin, however, was given the impression that the 2025 charter agreement would be better, which would help the teams. He also strongly rebuked the second seven-year extension in the charter agreement because it does not include a negotiation opportunity, and teams could be in a position to not receive any additional revenue from NASCAR.
“Yes,” Hamlin admitted when asked if it was hard not to sign the 2025 charter agreement. It felt like a “death certificate for the future.”
The rest of the morning featured Hamlin under cross-examination from one of NASCAR’s attorneys, Lawrence Buterman. It was during these questions that Hamlin, multiple times, got terse on the stand as he took exception to NASCAR’s questions and inferences.
It started when Hamlin’s pitch deck for Michael Jordan to launch 23XI Racing was dissected. Buterman pointed out that Hamlin listed multiple positive points for Jordan about getting into the sport, including Bubba Wallace having over $17 million in sponsorship, the Next Gen car, and the charter system.
In the lawsuit, however, Buterman pointed out that Hamlin is using the same examples to harm his race team. Hamlin accused Buterman of twisting words. He further said that he was repeating what NASCAR had told the industry about what the car would do for costs, which turned out not to be true.
Buterman spent quite a bit of time bringing up previous comments Hamlin has made, both publicly and privately, about the sport, all of which have been positive and contradict what the lawsuit alleges.
Hamlin took clear exception to this line of questioning. In addition to saying his public comments are taken out of context because he’s doing NASCAR a favor by being positive, he claimed that if he doesn’t do that, he gets in trouble. And then Hamlin refuted the notion that his comments can’t be trusted.
The positive comments in public are “talking points” and to make the fans happy.
Buterman moved on to positive comments had made privately. One example was a text message exchange with a reporter from The Athletic in which Hamlin praised NASCAR/ISC for reinvesting money into the sport with its repave projects that are well done, while then criticizing Speedway Motorsports for the botched jobs they do and taking the money and running.
Hamlin said in those messages that Speedway Motorsports is “miles behind” ISC in promotion, attendance, and facilities.
Other private messages used as examples included Hamlin talking with fellow executives from 23XI Racing about meeting financial goals for the race team. There were also emails where Hamlin expressed that he wouldn’t build a team to lose money, and they haven’t. Again, Hamlin said he is being a cheerleader and saying positive things because he doesn’t want his partners to get ill will toward NASCAR and leave.
There were also multiple financial figures that came out during Hamlin’s testimony:
· It took nearly $100 million to build and run 23XI Racing, but Hamlin says that doesn’t account for the $40 – 60 million that it takes to go racing.
· 23XI Racing is paying $1 million in rent to Hamlin and Jordan, who own the Airspeed building.
· Hamlin makes approximately $14 million as a driver for Joe Gibbs Racing.
· Hamlin stated he invested $45 million into 23XI Racing, but Hamlin’s lawyer told NASCAR that as of Aug. 2024, he had only put in $10 million. Hamlin owes the remaining amount on loans.
· 23XI Racing was estimated to be worth $160.2 million as of the end of 2024.
· Hamlin said COVID-related inflation made the cost of Airspeed exceed projections, which were about $10 million. It ultimately was $35 million, and Hamlin said the initial projection also didn’t include anything past the four walls.
Hamlin was later asked if he was aware that his 23XI Racing partners had expressed in their own private communications that he was a “terrible businessman.” After acknowledging that he was, Hamlin not only disagreed with those statements, but said that it’s the job of others to disagree and keep things in line when it comes to finances.
In further expressing how there can be disagreements between partners, Hamlin said it was the reason why there were communications about him telling 23XI Racing to find someone to buy him out of the team as early as 2023. Hamlin said that was looking for attention and just kicking and screaming over how to run the team the way he wanted. A compromise was eventually met, according to Hamlin.
Buterman used it as a pushback to Hamlin’s claims about being in the sport for the long haul – the same case he made when pointing out to Hamlin that he had communicated in 2024 about getting a third charter, building up its worth, and then selling a portion of it. But Hamlin said that was about getting some money back.
The rest of the afternoon saw NASCAR executive vice president Scott Prime on the witness stand. Prime was grilled by the team’s lead counsel, Jeffrey Kessler, over emails and pitch decks that had been previously released but were now being seen and heard by the jury for the first time. Among them were NASCAR’s contingency plans if none of the teams signed the charter agreement, as well as internal messages expressing frustration with the negotiation process.
Prime is expected to return to the stand on Wednesday.

Just hours into the first day of the NASCAR trial that began on December 1, Judge Kenneth D. Bell slammed both sides, issuing a warning following opening statements.
The highly publicized antitrust lawsuit between 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports versus NASCAR opened in Federal Court in Charlotte North Carolina on Monday. Michael Jordan, co-owner of 23XI Racing, was in attendance.
Both 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports chose not to sign the charter agreement last year, leading to the antitrust lawsuit that was filed in October 2024. Both teams accused NASCAR of operating as a non-competitive monopoly.
The plaintiffs believe the charter system and exclusive agreement put limits on commercial pursuits and profit potential.
NASCAR has denied these allegations and insisted its contracts and supplier agreements are in line with what is considered standard practices for any auto racing series.
The charter system began in 2016.
Judge Issues Warning Over Opening Statements
Shortly after the jury was chosen, opening statements were read in the afternoon. The Athletic reported that Judge Bell issued an impassioned warning to both sides for delivering opening statements “riddled with impermissible arguments.

“We got to when I was about 20 and a decision had to be made, I could keep racing or go out and work for my dad’s trailer business,” Hamlin testified, adding that he later was thinking about what retirement looked like and found a team going out of business. He needed a partner and turned to Jordan, who he had developed a friendship with when the Basketball Hall of Famer owned the Charlotte Hornets and Hamlin was a season-ticket holder.
“If I can’t be successful with Michael as a partner, I knew this was never going to work,” he said.
The references to his early days in auto racing and the sacrifices his family made were intended to show how difficult it is for both team owners and drivers to make it at the top level of the sport. He said he never would have been able to start 23XI in 2021 had he not partnered with Jordan.
Because of Jordan’s presence with the team, Hamlin testified, 23XI has turned a profit in all but one of its five seasons of operation. His attorney, Jeffrey Kessler, said in his opening statement that fast-food restaurant entrepreneur Bob Jenkins has never turned a profit since starting his Front Row team in 2004.
Front Row won the 2021 Daytona 500. At the heart of the lawsuit is NASCAR’s revenue sharing model, which 23XI and Front Row argue is unfair to race teams that often operate at a loss. Hamlin testified it cost $20 million to bring a single car to the track over a 38-race season, not including overhead expenses such as driver salary.
Kessler said a NASCAR-commissioned study found that 75 percent of teams lost money in 2024.
“So, why would these people do this if you are just going to lose money because NASCAR isn’t giving you a fair deal?” Kessler said as Jordan watched from the gallery. “Because you love stock car racing, and there’s nowhere else to do it.”
The charter agreements signed for this year that triggered the lawsuit guarantee the teams $12.5 million in annual revenue. NASCAR argues the guaranteed payouts are an increase from $9 million from previous agreements, but Hamlin noted that 11 of the first 19 chartered teams are no longer in business. All three charters 23XI purchased came from teams that ceased operations.
Hamlin said 23XI paid $4.7 million for its first charter, $13.5 million for its second and $28 million for its third, acquired late last year.
The charter system guarantees a car a spot in the field each race week as well as a percentage of the purse and gives team owners an asset to sell should they want to get out of the business.
NASCAR attorneys argued that the charter system has created $1.5 billion in equity for the 36 chartered teams. Prior to the charter system, teams raced “open,” with no guarantee they’d make the field or earn a payout.
The case has churned through hearings and arguments for more than a year despite calls from other NASCAR teams to settle. US District Judge Kenneth Bell even helped mediate a failed two-day summit in October.
A NASCAR victory could put 23XI, Front Row, and their six combined cars out of business. Their charters — now being held by NASCAR — would likely be sold. The last charter went for $45 million, and NASCAR has indicated there is interest from potential buyers including private equity firms.
A win for the teams could lead to monetary damages and the potential demolition of NASCAR as it is run today. The judge has the power to unravel a monopoly, and nothing is off the table — from ordering a sale of NASCAR to the dismantling of the charter system.
The charter system introduced in 2016 is NASCAR’s version of the franchise model used by most professional sports leagues. Even with the charters, teams have argued that the revenue model is not viable. They wanted more favorable terms for the charters, including having them made permanent (they are renewable and revocable), a larger percentage of revenues, and a voice in governance.
23XI and Front Row also argue NASCAR has a vice grip on all aspects of the racing series and allege a monopoly based on exclusivity clauses, ownership of most of the race tracks on the Cup Series schedule, and its control of the rules and regulations. The two were the only teams out of 15 to not sign the charter extension a year ago and instead went to court.
NASCAR says it has not violated antitrust law because it has done nothing to restrain trade beyond normal business practices. NASCAR has also cited the option for cars to enter races as “open teams” and try to make the field in one of four non-chartered spots on qualifying speed. 23XI and Front Row raced this season as open teams, and while their combined six cars made every race, it cost the organizations millions in purse money.
The pretrial discovery process revealed NASCAR made more than $100 million in 2024.
NASCAR executives in the courtroom included chairman Jim France and vice chair Lisa France Kennedy, two scions of the family that founded NASCAR in 1948 and still owns it.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The federal antitrust trial against NASCAR opened Monday with the star power of Michael Jordan on hand as a jury of nine was seated to hear allegations that the stock car series is a monopolistic bully that leaves its teams no option but to comply with rules and financing they don’t agree with.
The retired NBA Hall of Famer is the co-owner of the 23XI Racing team at the top Cup Series level. 23XI and Front Row Motorsports sued the series last year rather than sign extension agreements on new charters, which are franchise-type designations that serve as the framework for the revenue stream between NASCAR and the teams.
The stakes are huge: The charters are at the heart of NASCAR’s business model — they guarantee a car a spot in the field each race week as well as a percentage of the purse — and the disputes over how they work have dominated the series of late. A loss for the two teams could oust them from the series while a loss for NASCAR could mean a fundamental restructuring of how the series operates.
Six men and three women were seated for a trial expected to last two weeks before U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell, who asked for opening statements to be completed later Monday. Bell ruled that 23XI co-owner and star driver Denny Hamlin and Curtis Polk, the longtime business manager for Jordan and part of the team’s ownership group, will be sequestered after opening statements before they testify.
Jordan’s presence in the courtroom gallery near Hamlin was a factor: Among those dismissed from serving on the jury was a man who said he can’t be impartial because “I like Mike” and another who said he had Michael Jordan posters on his walls growing up. A juror said they were a North Carolina fan but noted the football team at Jordan’s alma mater is not “doing too well right now” to which the retired star shook his head and laughed.
NASCAR executives in the courtroom included chairman Jim France and vice chair Lisa France Kennedy, two scions of the family that founded NASCAR in 1948 and still owns it.
23XI and Front Row were the only two teams out of 15 to refuse to sign extensions on new charter agreements last fall. The teams wanted multiple concessions, and when they didn’t get them, they went to court. The case has churned through hearings and arguments for more than a year despite calls from other NASCAR teams to settle. Bell even helped mediate a failed two-day summit in October.
A NASCAR victory could put 23XI, Front Row and their six combined cars out of business. Their charters — now being held by NASCAR — would likely be sold. The last charter went for $45 million, and NASCAR has indicated there is interest from potential buyers including private equity firms.
A win for the teams would lead to monetary damages and the potential demolition of NASCAR as it is run today.
The judge has the power to unravel a monopoly, and nothing is off the table, from ordering a sale of NASCAR to the dismantling of the charter system.
The charter system introduced in 2016 is NASCAR’s version of the franchise model used by most professional sports leagues. Being chartered guarantees that car a spot in the 40-car field for all 38 races, as well as a defined payout from the weekly purse.
Even with the charters, the teams have argued that the revenue model is not viable. The teams wanted more favorable terms for the charters, including having them made permanent (they are renewable and revocable), a larger percentage of revenues and a voice in governance.
23XI and Front Row also argue NASCAR has a vice grip on all aspects of the racing series and allege a monopoly based on exclusivity clauses, ownership of most of the race tracks on the Cup Series schedule and its control of the rules and regulations.
NASCAR says it has not violated antitrust law because it has done nothing to restrain trade beyond normal business practices.
NASCAR has argued that payouts in the 2025 charter agreement increased and prove the series is not anticompetitive. NASCAR has also cited the option for cars to enter races as “open teams” and try to make the field in one of four nonchartered spots on qualifying speed. 23XI and Front Row raced this season as open teams, and while their combined six cars made every race, it cost the organizations millions in purse money.
The pretrial discovery process revealed NASCAR made more than $100 million in 2024.
Behind-the-scenes drama
The discovery phase was brutal for both sides. The antitrust allegations have exposed salacious personal communications, NASCAR’s finances and a deep contempt between some of the top executives in the sport and its participants.
NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps was among leadership who in a discussion with other NASCAR executives called Hall of Fame team owner Richard Childress a “dinosaur,” an “idiot” and a “stupid redneck.” The discussion also included a reference that Childress “owes his entire fortune to NASCAR” and needed “to be taken out back and flogged.”
Another NASCAR executive alleged that fans of the sport can’t read, and multiple series leaders admonished Hall of Fame driver Tony Stewart’s summer short-track series, SRX, and threatened to have it the killed because NASCAR drivers were participating.
On the other side, the president of 23XI was found to have said France had to die in order to receive favorable charter terms, Hamlin admitted his dislike for the France family, one of Jordan’s advisers said Hamlin wasn’t a good businessman and Jordan joked that he loses more money in a casino than he pays one of his drivers.
Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 winner who less than a month ago had the Cup Series championship slip through his fingers, warned this weekend that the gloves will be off during the trial.
“Our fans have been brainwashed with (NASCAR’s) talking points for decades,” Hamlin wrote on social media. “Lies are over starting Monday morning. It’s time for the truth. It’s time for change.”
___
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The landmark federal antitrust trial against NASCAR opened Monday with three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin breaking down in tears minutes into his testimony as the first witness in a case that could upend the venerable stock car series.
Hamlin’s 23XI Racing, which he co-owns with Michael Jordan, and Front Row Motorsports claim the series is a monopolistic bully that leaves its teams no option but to comply with rules and financing they don’t agree with.
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It’s NASCourt Day!
The NASCAR lawsuit trial has officially begun, pulling the entire industry into a courtroom showdown that’s been building for months. What started out as a simple dispute over the NASCAR charter system evolved into a high-stakes drama over the months. Leaked emails, tense negotiations, scathing accusations – you name it, and the NASCAR lawsuit has delivered it.
And now on Day 1 of the trial, all eyes turned to the witness stand as NASCAR called its first voice. It was none other than Denny Hamlin – driver, team owner, and one of the most outspoken figures in the case. However, what happened next was far from standard testimony. It set the tone for a trial that promises emotion, confrontation, and a deeper look into the human cost behind the business of racing.
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An emotional start to the NASCAR lawsuit trial
Denny Hamlin was barely into his testimony when the entire courtroom felt the emotional weight he carried as a driver, team owner, and the face of the NASCAR lawsuit. As he began, a simple question about his NASCAR journey and the man behind it (his father) made Hamlin emotional, and he finally broke down. It was an unexpectedly raw start to what would become one of the most revealing stretches of the trial’s opening day.
As you might know, Denny Hamlin’s parents have made significant sacrifices to support his motorsports career, including taking out multiple mortgages and using all their credit cards when Denny was starting. His father, Dennis, has been battling a serious illness for a while now. Hamlin recently expressed his desire for his father to see him win the championship. Despite the heartbreak of his 2025 championship loss, Hamlin’s father’s unwavering support and sacrifices remain a powerful motivator for him to continue pursuing the title in 2026.
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Once composed after a few minutes, Hamlin took the court through the origin story of 23XI Racing. He detailed how the idea formed, how Michael Jordan came on board, and what it took to turn that vision into a fully operational Cup Series team. But sentiment quickly gave way to hard numbers. Numbers, he argued, prove how unsustainable the current charter system is for modern teams.
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Hamlin shared that 23XI paid:
$4.7 million for its first charter,
$13.5 million for its second, and
$28 million for its third
Hamlin personally holds a 40% stake in each purchase.
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In total, the team is “in for over $45 million” on charters alone. Add in $35 million for the Air Speed shop, the $8 million alliance fee to Joe Gibbs Racing (about $2.66 million per car), and the staggering revelation that it costs $20 million just to put one car on track for 38 races, excluding driver salary or overhead.
When asked how his rocky 2025 season went, Hamlin quipped, “Can I plead the fifth?” But when the focus returned to the charter system, his tone sharpened. Asked why he considers the system unfair, he replied, “Your costs aren’t covered to put on their show.”
Denny Hamlin‘s 40-minute testimony ended not with closure, but a pause. His testimony resumes Tuesday as the NASCAR lawsuit trial continues.

The new year is expected to be an innovative turning point for NASCAR. Especially for the Craftsman Truck Series, as Ram is making a comeback. The new OEM has already partnered with Kaulig Racing, which will likely involve adding a legendary NASCAR veteran to its roster of drivers. But while this news has thrilled fans, the announcement of another Truck driver did not elicit the same reaction.
Niece Motorsports had an eventful 2025 season, with Kaden Honeycutt’s abrupt mid-season departure. Rookie Andrés Pérez de Lara fetched impressive finishes like three top-ten results. Matt Mills was also there in the mix, posting improved milestones. But 2026 may be a little different – as their new teammate comes with an infamous resume.
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A history of carnage hovers over Niece
Conner Jones has been regarded as an exceptional talent – he has won in the CARS Tour and the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing competition. Jones has also already made 27 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts and picked up his best finish of 11th at Charlotte in 2024. So, he has big plans for 2024 – he will drive for Niece Motorsports. Bob Pockrass wrote on X, “Now catching up on some other news … Conner Jones will drive select events in the Niece No. 42 truck in 2026. Tyler Reif will be the “anchor” driver (Reif will have the most races).”
However, driving the No. 42 for Niece Motorsports feels ironic for Connor Jones. That is because of his history of carnage; in the 2024 NCTS Homestead-Miami race, Jones drove his No. 66 Front Row Motorsports truck right through Matt Mills’ No. 42 Niece Truck. The 42 slammed the outside wall hard, immediately bursting into flames. Following the incident, Mills had to be taken to the hospital, and Jones was hit with a two-lap penalty and a one-race suspension.
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Yet Niece Motorsports has chosen to forget that history, as Conner Jones ran select starts for the team this year. The 19-year-old’s best result was 18th at Bristol. Cody Efaw, President and CEO of Niece Motorsports, praised him. “Conner really did a good job in the races he ran for us this year, and I’ve enjoyed seeing the improvement he’s made with his race craft. There were a few times that he performed as our best-running truck out there, and I think he has been pretty overlooked. As he continues to gain experience, I think he will have a good shot at succeeding next year.”
Conner Jones also did not hide his enthusiasm. “I’m thrilled to continue this journey with Niece Motorsports. I’ve been able to learn so much already this year, getting to work with the crew chiefs on both the Nos. 44 and 41 teams, and I’m looking forward to continuing that behind the wheel of the No. 42.”
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However, fans are definitely not looking forward to the 42’s new driver. That is because their memory is a bit stronger than Niece’s.
NASCAR fans predict a tumultuous season
Although Niece Motorsports brushed off the 2024 controversy, fans could not. In fact, the team offering Conner Jones the exact Truck number that he had wrecked felt jaw-dropping. Somebody wrote, “The irony of going to the 42 of all numbers that Niece had to offer.” Given the tradition of NASCAR drivers to hold grudges and build up rivalries, it seems even more strange. One fan invoked the memory of Matt Mills’ spine-chilling wreck again: “Still can’t believe he’s driving for Niece Motorsports after intentionally wrecking one of their trucks last year at Homestead-Miami.”
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What’s more, Conner Jones’ history of carnage does not stop with just the Homestead incident. This year in February, he got into a scuffle with one of his own crew members during a short-track race. Then, at a CARS Tour race at Langley Speedway, he got into a fistfight with competitor Parker Eatmon. So, fans predicted a costly year for Niece Motorsports. Somebody wrote, “I give it 4 races before the checks don’t cover the amount of torn up race trucks niece is going to have to deal with.” Another fan predicted Niece’s added duties: “Good news!! Niece is going to keep about a dozen extra fabricators in jobs now.”
NASCAR tolerates such carnage-inducing drivers, as it helps create storylines for the sport. Besides Conner Jones, another big example of a rabble-rouser is Carson Hocevar. The Spire Motorsports driver has caused havoc from Trucks to Cup races. So one fan wrote, “There’s always has to be a couple of drivers in the sport that somehow, someway, just manage to stick around.”
Nevertheless, fans will witness Conner Jones in Trucks. With the new season a couple of months away, let’s wait and see how he performs.

In the first day of the NASCAR v. 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports antitrust lawsuit in Charlotte, North Carolina, NASCAR continued to hold firm in the stance they’ve had since the complaint was first filed last October.
John E. Stephenson, Jr. made that clear very quickly when delivering NASCAR’s opening statements on Monday, asking the jury a simple question: “Why are we here?”
RELATED: Live Updates From Lawsuit Between NASCAR, FRM and Michael Jordan’s 23XI
The first of 10 scheduled days of this trial included jury selection (where six jurors and three alternates were selected out of a pool of potential candidates), opening statements were heard from both sides, and the first part of testimony from Denny Hamlin, one of three co-owners of 23XI Racing.
After all of that came to a natural stopping point, around 5:00pm local time, Judge Bell dismissed both parties and all the interested onlookers, and both went their separate ways without making any comments, whatsoever. About 90 minutes later, though, NASCAR broke its silence and made its stance known following an eight-hour day in court.
In an email correspondence sent to members of the media, NASCAR said: “As you know, the antitrust trial initiated by the only two race teams who elected not to sign the 2025 Charter Agreement that is threatening to change the future of NASCAR, began today in federal court in Charlotte, North Carolina.”
“NASCAR has worked tirelessly for nearly eight decades to give fans a thrilling and unforgettable experience, while also ensuring that teams have a contracted revenue stream, guaranteed weekly racing entries that deliver sponsorship dollars, and long-term equity value. That’s what we are in court to protect for the sport, the team and fans.”
In this message, NASCAR also made clear its three largest takeaways from the first day in court.
NASCAR claims that the teams asked the sanctioning body for the charter system and helped to negotiate the deal and all its terms, including a commitment to be all-in to grow the NASCAR Cup Series. The sanctioning body says that at every turn, they’ve kept their word and paid every single dime promised to teams over the last nine years.
In this latest round of negotiations for the 2025 Charter Agreement, NASCAR says that none of this anticompetitive conduct was brought up in two-plus years of negotiations, which “consisted of 70 meetings, correspondence and drafts of the 2025 Charter Agreement.”
Letters sent by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports explaining why they wouldn’t be signing the Charter Agreement last September allegedly did not include any mention of these anticompetitive practices, either, NASCAR says.
“If the system is unfair, anticompetitive and below market, why did 23XI Racing buy a charter not once, not twice, but three times? And why did Front Row Motorsports but, sell and lease its own charters multiple times? And why did they want them forever? Remember, teams received charters for free and they’re worth over $45 million.”
However, one of the last talking points or observations from NASCAR’s side on Monday is a bit jarring. Seemingly answering the question posed in their opening statement, the sanctioning body believes that they are here, in this antitrust lawsuit because this was the plan of Curtis Polk and 23XI Racing all along… and that’s the reason why this has all played out to this point.
“It’s important to talk about the truth in this trial, so let’s do that – this lawsuit was Curtis Polk and 23XI Racing’s plan from the start. That’s why we are here today.”
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The landmark federal antitrust trial against NASCAR opened Monday with three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin breaking down in tears minutes into his testimony as the first witness in a case that could upend the venerable stock car series.
Hamlin’s 23XI Racing, which he co-owns with Michael Jordan, and Front Row Motorsports claim the series is a monopolistic bully that leaves its teams no option but to comply with rules and financing they don’t agree with.
As Jordan watched from the gallery, Hamlin began to cry and had to stop and compose himself when asked how he got into racing. He disclosed to The Associated Press last month that his father is dying, and he said on the stand he was emotional because his dad “is not in great health.”
“We got to when I was about 20 and a decision had to be made: I could keep racing or go out and work for my dad’s trailer business,” Hamlin testified, adding that he later was thinking about what retirement looked like and found a team going out of business.
He needed a partner and turned to Jordan, with whom he had developed a friendship when the Basketball Hall of Famer owned the Charlotte Hornets and Hamlin was a season ticket holder.
“If I can’t be successful with Michael as a partner, I knew this was never going to work,” he said.
The references to his early days in auto racing and the sacrifices his family made were intended to show how difficult it is for both team owners and drivers to make it at the top level of the sport. He said he never would have been able to start 23XI in 2021 had he not partnered with Jordan.
Because of Jordan’s presence with the team, Hamlin testified, 23XI has turned a profit in all but one of its five seasons of operation. His attorney, Jeffrey Kessler, said in his opening statement that fast-food restaurant entrepreneur Bob Jenkins never has turned a profit since starting his Front Row team in 2004, a team that won the Daytona 500 in 2021.
Kessler said a NASCAR-commissioned study found that 75% of teams lost money in 2024 and added that over a three-year period almost $400 million was paid to the France Family Trust. He said a 2023 evaluation by Goldman Sachs found NASCAR to be worth $5 billion. NASCAR is currently run by Jim France, son of founder Bill France Sr.
“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,” Kessler said.
At the heart of the lawsuit is NASCAR’s revenue-sharing model, which 23XI and Front Row argue is unfair to race teams that often operate at a loss. Hamlin testified it cost $20 million simply to bring a single car to the track over a 38-race season, not including overhead expenses such as driver salary and business operations.
“So why would these people do this if you are just going to lose money because NASCAR isn’t giving you a fair deal?” Kessler asked. “Because you love stock car racing, and there’s nowhere else to do it.”
The charter agreements signed for this year that triggered the lawsuit guarantee the teams $12.5 million in annual revenue per chartered car. NASCAR argues the guaranteed payouts are an increase from $9 million from the previous agreement, but Hamlin noted that 11 of the first 19 chartered teams are no longer in business.
All three charters 23XI purchased came from teams that ceased operations, and Hamlin said 23XI paid $4.7 million for its first charter, $13.5 million for its second and $28 million for its third, acquired late last year. He acknowledged purchasing the third charter was a risk because of the pending litigation — and the price concerned him — but it was required if 23XI intends to build itself into a top team.
The charter system guarantees a car a spot in the field each race week as well as a percentage of the purse and gives team owners an asset to sell should they want to get out of the business.
NASCAR attorneys argued that the charter system has created $1.5 billion in equity for the 36 chartered teams. Prior to the charter system, teams raced “open,” with no guarantee they would make the field or earn a payout.
“The France family built NASCAR from nothing. They are an American success story,” Johnny Stephenson said in the opening statement for NASCAR. Stephenson is a colleague of Christopher Yates, who had previously handled most of the courtroom arguments for the defendants.
“They’ve done it through hard work over 75 years. That’s the kind of effort that doesn’t deserve a lawsuit. That’s the kind of effort that deserves admiration.”
The case has churned through hearings and arguments for more than a year despite calls from other NASCAR teams to settle. U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell even helped mediate a failed two-day summit in October.
A NASCAR victory could put 23XI, Front Row and their six combined cars out of business. Their charters — now being held by NASCAR — likely would be sold. The last charter went for $45 million, and NASCAR has indicated there is interest from potential buyers, including private equity firms.
A win for the teams could lead to monetary damages and the potential demolition of NASCAR as it is run today. The judge has the power to unravel a monopoly, and nothing is off the table, from ordering a sale of NASCAR to the dismantling of the charter system.
Jordan’s presence factors into the trial
Jordan’s presence in the courtroom gallery near Hamlin was a factor: Among those dismissed from serving on the jury was a man who said he can’t be impartial because “I like Mike” and another who said he had Michael Jordan posters on his walls growing up.
A juror said they were a North Carolina fan but noted the football team at Jordan’s alma mater is not “doing too well right now,” to which Jordan shook his head and laughed.
NASCAR executives in the courtroom included Chairman Jim France and vice chair Lesa France Kennedy, two scions of the family that founded NASCAR in 1948 and still owns it.
Hamlin will resume testimony Tuesday morning. NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps, 23XI minority owner Curtis Polk, France Kennedy and other top executives had to leave the courtroom after opening arguments because they are all potential witnesses.

The NASCAR lawsuit has finally hit its trial phase. On December 1st, key individuals from 23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports, NASCAR, and other concerned race teams attended a federal court in Charlotte, North Carolina. Attorneys on both sides posted strong arguments, expanding on the antitrust lawsuit that was filed by Michael Jordan and Co. back in October 2024. However, the decision for those arguments will be taken by the jury, a crucial part of the legal process.
What is the Jury Selection Process in the NASCAR Case?
Alongside the opening arguments of the entities, the jury selection also happened on Monday morning. It went relatively quickly and with one hiccup. One of the jurors chosen was released soon after for necessary family obligations and replaced in short order.
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However, more hiccups emerged pertaining to choosing an impartial group related to a case with the most famous athlete in the world, Michael Jordan. The 6-time NBA champion and Chicago Bulls legend had two fans among the prospective jurors, and they were dismissed. “I like Mike,” one man explained before pumping his fist at Jordan on his exit. Another man confessed to having Jordan’s posters as a youngster. One woman, a fan of 23XI Racing’s rival, Hendrick Motorsports, was also dismissed.
Yet most of the prospective jurors had little knowledge about the case itself, or even NASCAR. Only three of 23 remaining candidates admitted to knowing of the lawsuit, and three of the remaining 19 people later said they were race fans. The final jury consisted of six men and three women.
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Why Jury Composition Matters in a High-Profile Sports Lawsuit?
The dismissal of the prospective jurors is significant in the NASCAR antitrust case. It demonstrates how such high-profile lawsuits work and how potential biases are filtered out of the jury selection process. Referred to as ‘voir dire’, or Latin for ‘to speak the truth’, the process is designed to seat a fair and impartial jury.
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Potential jurors are first picked from public records, such as registered voter lists or driver’s license databases, in the relevant judicial district. They must be a US citizen and at least 18 years old, without a disqualifying felony conviction. Then the judge and attorneys from both sides question all jurors to uncover potential biases, as were revealed in the NASCAR lawsuit. In sports cases, fandom, team loyalty, and perceptions of athletes can be big factors in biases. Then, media consumption and financial biases also count.
Which Key Figures Could Potentially Testify as Witnesses?
Denny Hamlin already occupied the witness stand on Monday morning. He told the jury that NASCAR team owners are “essentially just professional fundraisers” due to NASCAR’s business model. He said that 23XI Racing, the team he co-owns with Michael Jordan, had to generate $45 million in sponsorship revenue to make a minor profit.
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While this started the trial, other witnesses will be lined up soon over the next two weeks. Potential witnesses include Michael Jordan as well, a key figure behind the start of the lawsuit. Other notable figures who could take the stand include NASCAR CEO Jim France, whom Hamlin and Jordan have accused of running the ‘monopolistic’ business model. Then there are other NASCAR racing team owners, Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick, and Roger Penske, who have also raced under the same model.
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What Role Do Team Executives and NASCAR Officials Play in Testimony?
The role of the team executives and NASCAR officials would be to confirm or negate the attorneys’ statements. Jeffrey Kessler, representing Michael Jordan and Co., laid out a chart of evidence that may show NASCAR locked up the racetracks and the race cars and also restricted teams’ eligibility to illegally maintain their monopoly. Kessler also presented a NASCAR-commissioned study that revealed 75% of teams lost money in 2024. Team executives would be there to testify to these claims.
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Kessler also said NASCAR was valued at $5 billion by a Goldman Sachs evaluation in 2023. In a counter-argument, NASCAR attorney John E. Stephenson highlighted the benefits that teams enjoy. He said that they generated a combined $640 million on average in sponsor dollars per year. Currently, teams are receiving $431 million from the new media rights deal and the sport’s charter system, which guarantees certain revenues to teams. Hence, the words of both team heads and NASCAR officials will count a lot with these claims.
What Happens Next? Trial Expectations and Legal Boundaries
If NASCAR wins, the lawsuit would reinforce the league’s business model for its 77 years in existence. 23XI and FRM would probably have to race as “open” teams in 2026. Both Cup Series teams would also face a substantial risk of shutting down within a year, based on any potential appeals.
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On the other hand, if 23XI and FRM attain legal victory, then it could reshape the very foundation of the sport. The judge will rule on the financial damages to the plaintiff teams, and the figures could triple under the law. What’s more, the judge will also decide on antitrust remedies. These can include mandating track sales, modifying or eliminating charters, abandoning the Next Gen car program, or removing exclusivity provisions.
With the jury now seated and the first testimony finally delivered, the lawsuit trial is officially underway. Now, NASCAR is either one step closer to reinforcing its legacy or facing a complete teardown of the sport’s foundation.

“We knew we were going to have a reset,” NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps said in early November. He referred to the drop in NASCAR’s TV ratings for the 2025 season, affected by the broadcast changes. However, a month after the championship weekend, deeper faults are visible in the sport. They were revealed on the first day of the NASCAR lawsuit’s trial, which featured Denny Hamlin.
Exposing Denny Hamlin’s and NASCAR’s scars
A jury of six men and three women was selected for the NASCAR lawsuit’s trial phase. Seated inside a federal courthouse in Charlotte, North Carolina, these individuals’ statements were shocking for the NASCAR community. Prior to the jury selection, most of the prospective jurors knew little about the case itself or even NASCAR. Only three of 23 remaining candidates at one point said they had even heard of the lawsuit, and three of the remaining 19 people later said they were race fans.
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“It might have been rough for some to hear but I do believe the jurors when they say they don’t follow NASCAR or don’t know much about it. Many are transplants from other cities and if you aren’t in the area north of the city, it isn’t like people are talking NASCAR all the time,” journalist Bob Pockrass wrote on X.
This revelation exacerbates the already drowsy situation of the sport’s popularity. The NASCAR Cup Series experienced a 14 percent drop in television ratings for the 2025 season. The championship race at Phoenix Raceway drew 2.77 million viewers on NBC, down from the 2.9 million it drew last year.
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Accompanied by this revelation was Denny Hamlin‘s tough time in the witness stand. The 60-time Cup Series race winner and co-owner of 23XI Racing rolled out his testimony for a duration of 40 minutes. It included 23XI’s $8 million payment to Joe Gibbs Racing for its alliance and the absence of 11 of the 19 original charter teams. It also included the jurors asking Hamlin about his season, upon which he emotionally pleaded for the Fifth Amendment. Yet he went on to explain about his ailing father’s struggles to pay for his career.
“Court done for today. Opening statements and about 40 minutes of Denny Hamlin testimony. Hamlin teared up when talking about his family investing in his racing,” Bob Pockrass wrote. A fan took Hamlin’s side: “Asking about Denny’s season is like putting salt in the wound. That’s horrible and I don’t even like Denny.”
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Clearly, the NASCAR lawsuit’s first day of trial ended with shocking elements for fans. However, one endearing element was also present.
Validating the NBA legend’s presence
Although Denny Hamlin had a tough time on Monday, his co-owner had a different experience. Michael Jordan, a 6-time NBA champion and Chicago Bulls legend, can give goosebumps to anybody when he walks into a room. Although he is going up against a 77-year-old stock car racing enterprise, Jordan’s fame knows no bounds. The ultra sports star had that impact on some of the prospective jurors, who confessed to being fans and were thereby dismissed. That is what Jenna Fryer, covering the trial for the Associated Press, explained in detail.
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“Jordan’s presence in the courtroom was a factor: Among those dismissed from serving on the jury was a man who said he can’t be impartial because ‘I like Mike’ and another who said he had Michael Jordan posters on his walls growing up. A third dismissed juror pointed and winked at Jordan as he left the courtroom while the juror said they were a North Carolina fan but noted the football team at Jordan’s alma mater “aren’t doing too well right now’’ to which the retired star shook his head and laughed,” Fryer tweeted.
Clearly, Michael Jordan would turn heads no matter which direction the NASCAR lawsuit takes. Let’s wait and see what unfolds in the following days.

George Gorham Jr. just reminded everyone what real short-track racing looks like. At the 2025 Bigley Memorial 128, he started 12th, sliced to the front by lap 67, and checked out, winning by more than eight seconds in a race that went 126 laps straight green after one early yellow. No stage breaks, no overtime, no forced restarts. Just pure speed. Ty Majeski, who finished second, left the Freedom Factory grinning about how rare, and how good, that actually felt.
Majeski calls the Bigley Memorial “old school” racing
After the checkered flag, Ty Majeski didn’t hide how refreshing the whole night felt.
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“It’s great,” he said. “Just to have these races play out authentically, I think, is a good thing. Sometimes the cautions can breed cautions, and at this level, none of us can afford to tear up race cars with stages and stuff like that.”
He wasn’t wrong. The Bigley ran clean from lap three to the end. 126 green laps on a place that’s basically a third-mile on the apron and almost a half-mile up high. Gorham’s No. 10 was untouchable, Majeski’s backup car was strong but never close enough, and only three cars finished on the lead lap. Everybody else got lapped the honest way, by being slower, not by getting caught in someone else’s mess.
Majeski loved it. “I thought it was very refreshing to see a race go 126 laps green. You rarely see that in today’s day and age. So to me, that’s old school. I thought it was a great race tonight, and mostly everybody gave plenty of room out there and was very respectful.”
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That’s the keyword: ‘respectful’. Fifty of the best Super Late Model drivers in the country showed up — Cup guys, Truck guys, weekend warriors, all on the same track with big money and pride on the line. They raced hard without turning it into a demolition derby.
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George Gorham passed cars clean, Majeski followed the same line, and nobody felt the need to punt someone for position because the race was long enough for real speed to win. Even in a backup car after an oil-pump belt let go on his primary, Majeski knew the deal.
“I don’t know that there was really anything we could do to match what the 10 car had tonight.”
No excuses, no whining about cautions or restarts that never came. Just a nod to the guy who brought the fastest car and drove it perfectly. Majeski saved his sharpest take for the contrast with the big-league stuff.
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He called the constant-crash, stage-break, overtime-heavy races “derbies” and “weak.” At short tracks, teams can’t just grab another truck off the shelf. One wreck can end your whole season. So when a big race like the Bigley runs clean and green for basically the entire distance, it feels honest. It feels like racing instead of reality TV.
That same weekend vibe couldn’t be more different from what Majeski just lived through in the NASCAR Truck Series.
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How was Majeski’s NASCAR season?
The 2025 season ended with him second in points again, 10 top-fives, 18 top-tens, a 9.8 average finish, and not a single win. He took the No. 98 to Phoenix with a real shot at the championship, only to watch Corey Heim drive away with the trophy.
It was consistent, sometimes brilliant, but never quite enough under a format that loves chaos and late restarts more than season-long excellence. Next year, Majeski slides over to the No. 88 full-time, taking Matt Crafton’s seat when Crafton steps away.
With Heim moving up and the field wide open, a lot of people already have Majeski penciled in as the favorite, no matter how many stages or playoffs they throw at him.
One weekend, he’s moving on from a championship that slipped away because someone got a lucky caution or a perfect restart. Next, he’s celebrating a 126-lap green-flag clinic that rewards pure speed and respect.
Same driver, two different worlds. And if you ask Ty Majeski which one feels more like real racing, he just showed you his answer under the Florida lights.

Denny Hamlin had the 2025 NASCAR Cup finale in the palm of his hand. He led 208 laps (more than any Championship 4 driver ever), dominated Phoenix, and looked certain to finally grab that first title. But a late caution crushed his dreams. That one yellow flag at the end turned a season of brilliance into heartbreak. Now, across the planet, Supercars champion Broc Feeney has just become the perfect demo of why so many people hate that kind of ending.
Broc’s heartbreak echoes Hamlin’s loss
The race at the bp Adelaide 500 had not even started when on the very first lap, Ryan Wood’s aggressive move clipped the rear of Feeney, spinning him around. It sent him from the pole position to the back of the field, crushing his dreams and his season-long efforts.
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His voice cracked post the race, as he said, “That’s the new system they’ve got. You can have a shocker in the last race of the year and it all falls apart… No matter what happened today, the thing was going to break down unfortunately.”
While NASCAR handed its crown to the guy who got lucky with a caution and nailed a restart, Broc Feeney had rolled into the final round of the 2025 Supercars season carrying a points lead built the old-fashioned way. He had a stack of wins, a bunch of poles, and week after week excellence. No points resets, no knockout rounds, no single-race lottery. Just the driver and team who were flat-out best from February until now.
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Feeney hasn’t pretended to love every part of Supercars’ new finals-style twist this year, but he’s also made it clear he believes real racing should reward the guy who shows up fastest most weekends, not the one who survives the wildest scramble on the last day.
“I don’t think you’ll be hearing from me for a while, mate. I’ll be flying under the radar for a bit,” he added, making us realize the emotional toll he’s going through.
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Every race he wins, clean sweeps, every time he parks it on pole and brings it home up front, he adds another quiet brick to the wall marked “consistency still works.” Every long green-flag run he dominates is another reminder that you don’t need artificial drama when the best car and driver are allowed to prove it over ten months instead of ten laps.
People always argue that playoffs keep the championship alive until the final corner, and yeah, they create wild television. But watch Feeney rack up strong finishes the honest way, and it’s hard not to think the bigger drama is actually the slow-burn story of one team refusing to make mistakes while everyone else tries to chase them down.
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Denny Hamlin did everything right for thirty-six races and still walked away empty because one yellow fell at the wrong moment. Feeney’s season is living proof that when you let the points fall where they may, the guy in front at the end almost always deserves to be there.
If Feeney climbs the podium after the last race with the championship in his hands, he won’t just have a trophy and a cool accent. He’ll have the clearest real-world example in years that a title decided over a full season feels fairer, feels heavier, and can still keep every fan on the edge of their seat without turning the finale into a demolition derby or a coin flip.
His whole 2025 run is a calm, steady rejection of the idea that the only way to crown a champion is to throw away ten months of work and let one restart decide everything.
The same weekend the playoff format crushed Denny Hamlin’s dreams, he was already burning hot about something else: the way the press was framing his team’s antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR. The trial starts on Monday, the preview stories have started dropping, and Hamlin read one he thought was pure spin.
Denny Hamlin says fans have been “brainwashed”
Hamlin jumped on social media and unloaded. He accused the ESPN writer Ryan McGee of letting NASCAR’s communications team basically co-author the piece, called it “propaganda,” and said it was full of “continuous lies” about what 23XI and Front Row Motorsports are actually fighting for.
Then he went nuclear: “Our fans have been brainwashed with their talking points for decades. Narratives pushed by the media that are intimidated by them. Lies are over starting Monday morning. It’s time for the truth. It’s time for change.”
To Hamlin, the connection is obvious. The same organization that can snatch a championship away with one poorly timed caution is the same one that owns the tracks, picks the parts suppliers, writes the charter rules, and keeps the lion’s share of the TV money while most teams lose cash every year.
Texts that surfaced in discovery show NASCAR executives bragging about killing Tony Stewart’s SRX series and talking trash about Richard Childress. Hamlin sees ‘monopoly’ written all over it.
The trial is scheduled for three weeks, but everyone knows appeals will probably stretch it out for years. Michael Jordan will be sitting in court every day as 23XI’s official representative.
One weekend, Hamlin watches a random caution steal the title he earned all year. Next, he’s telling the world the entire sport is built to keep teams under the thumb. And halfway around the globe, a kid named Broc Feeney is driving like the perfect answer: stay fast, stay clean, let the season decide.

23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports’ lawsuit against NASCAR is prepared to go to trial on December 1st. There have been positive and negative developments for both sides up until now, and the sanctioning body has attempted its best to push back the teams’ claims. With the hearing starting soon, it has now pushed back against the ‘anti-competitive’ and similar accusations, claiming that nothing they’re doing is actually illegal.
NASCAR takes a stand against ‘illegal’ allegations
23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports were the only two teams in 2024 who refused to sign the Charter Agreement for the 2025 season. Subsequently, they filed an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR. They alleged monopolistic practices in the sport regarding the Charter Agreement. The plaintiffs have claimed how NASCAR’s control over tracks, suppliers, and charters clearly amounts to ‘anti-competitive’ behavior. It limits any rival series from ever taking shape.
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However, right before heading into the hearing, NASCAR has claimed that it did not make any “illegal” decisions regarding the anticompetitive acts. The authorities further claim that if anything, any decision made has been to assist the TV deals (part of the Charter System) and has increased the overall charter payout. This strengthens their claim that what they’re doing is actually working.
However, there is more than just this lawsuit that NASCAR is battling.
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In light of the recent developments, Steve Phelps’ text conversations were publicized, along with other top authorities of the sport. The texts revealed defamatory remarks about veteran team owner Richard Childress. There is a slight possibility that Phelps might have another lawsuit coming towards him in this regard.
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Steve Phelps might be in another trouble amidst the NASCAR lawsuit
As mentioned, some of the text conversations that were surfaced and publicized as part of the lawsuit against NASCAR. These messages revealed derogatory and racial remarks used against Richard Childress, specifically from Phelps.
“Childress needs to be taken out back and flogged. He’s a stupid redneck who owes his entire fortune to nascar,” one of his texts read.
There was quite a backlash in the community owing to the nature of the message and the strong language used against the 80-year-old team owner. RCR released a team statement following this. This made it clear that Phelps might land himself in legal trouble.
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“RCR and Richard Childress are deeply disappointed by the insensitive and defamatory statements made about Mr. Childress in recently surfaced text messages between NASCAR executives Steve Phelps and Brian Herbst,” the statement read. “These comments reflect the way certain NASCAR executives have historically viewed and treated many team owners like Mr. Childress, who have devoted their lives to strengthening the sport for its fans, its sponsors, and all who compete in it.”
There was also a mention of a possible lawsuit: “Mr. Childress and the organization will issue no further statements regarding these or other defamatory text messages that have recently surfaced, as legal action is being contemplated and discussed with legal counsel.”
NASCAR is under major scrutiny after the developments in the lawsuit. As it soon moves to trial, the authorities will need the best arguments to oppose the allegations. Their “illegal” message against the anti-competitive allegations seems to be a start for the same.

NASCAR sold the Next Gen car the way everyone wanted: cheaper parts, less development, a real chance for smaller teams to run up front. It sounded great on paper. Then the bills started coming in. Instead of saving money, teams found themselves spending more than ever on parts and repairs that cost a fortune.
And just like that, the car that was supposed to level the field quietly became one of the biggest money pits the sport has ever seen. Now, Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are putting those numbers front and center in court.
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Next Gen promised savings, delivered pain
Court filings from the 23XI/Front Row antitrust lawsuit lay it out plain and ugly. In 2021, running the old Gen 6 car, 23XI spent about $2.8 million a year on car stuff. Switch to Next Gen, and that jumped to between $3.1 and $4.3 million every season from 2022 to 2024. That’s not a little bump; that’s hundreds of thousands extra just to keep the doors open.
Front Row Motorsports got hit even harder. Their cost per car sat around $2.9 million in 2021. By 2024, it had ballooned to $7.1 million. One mid-pack team almost tripled its yearly spend on the car itself, exactly the kind of team NASCAR swore the new model would help most.
Here’s why it hurts so bad. Teams can’t build anything anymore. Everything has to come from the same approved vendors at the same fixed price. Crash a quarter panel at Talladega? You’re writing a huge check to the only place allowed to sell you a new one.
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Need a different setup for a short track? Too bad, the parts list is the parts list. Denny Hamlin put it perfectly: teams aren’t racing by being smarter or more creative anymore; they’re racing to see who can afford to keep buying the same expensive pieces as the big dogs.
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The worst part? The on-track balance everyone hoped for never really showed up long-term. Sure, we get an occasional surprise winner, but look at the standings, and it’s still the usual suspects at the top. The rich teams still have the manpower, the simulators, the extra sets of tires, and now they also have the cash to eat the higher costs without blinking. Smaller teams are just trying to survive from weekend to weekend.
All of this is now Exhibit A in the lawsuit. If the judge looks at those skyrocketing budgets and decides NASCAR created a system where you have to overspend just to exist, the whole Next Gen experiment could be forced to change. There could be open suppliers, lower prices, maybe even real competition in the parts market.
What started as a promise to save money might end up costing NASCAR the way it does business. The scary thing is, none of this is new.
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Bill Elliott saw this coming almost twenty years ago
Back in 2008, Bill Elliott was already waving the red flag. He watched Hendrick, Gibbs, Roush, and Childress win everything and told anyone who would listen: the big teams have the army.
“You may have a day in the sun and shine once or twice, but year in and year out, they’re going to kick your butt. They’ve got the manpower. You’re going to kill your people trying to keep up.”
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He hated seeing legends like Bud Moore and Junior Johnson pushed out because they couldn’t match the spending. The Next Gen car was supposed to fix exactly that: lock the parts, shrink the budgets, give the little guy a fighting chance.
Instead, it just changed the game from “who can build the fastest car” to “who can write the biggest checks every week.” Trackhouse looked like the new kid on the block for a minute, but once the big teams figured out the new puzzle, the order went right back to normal.
Now Steve O’Donnell says NASCAR is studying ways to let teams tweak things again, maybe move away from single-source parts. That sounds nice until you remember Elliott’s warning: open the door to development, and the teams with the deepest pockets will just spend everyone else into the ground all over again. Damned if you lock it, damned if you open it.
From 23XI paying millions extra just to keep two cars on track to Front Row watching their budget almost triple, the Next Gen dream of affordability is looking more like a nightmare. And a Hall of Famer who saw the future in 2008 is probably sitting at home thinking, “Told you so.”

Michael Jordan’s bitter fight against NASCAR heads to federal court Monday in a jury trial that could rip apart the top motorsports series in the United States.
The antitrust allegations leveled by Jordan-owned 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports has exposed salacious personal communications, NASCAR’s finances and a deep contempt between some of the top executives in the sport and its participants.
Three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, who owns 23XI alongside Jordan and less than a month ago had the Cup Series championship slip through his fingers, warned this weekend that the gloves will be off during the two-week trial in the Western District of North Carolina.
“Our fans have been brainwashed with (NASCAR’s) talking points for decades,” Hamlin wrote on social media. “Lies are over starting Monday morning. It’s time for the truth. It’s time for change.”
NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps has said that the series has tried hard to settle the case ahead of Monday’s trial.
What is the lawsuit about?
The lawsuit was filed by 23XI Racing, which is owned by Basketball Hall of Famer Jordan, Hamlin and Jordan’s longtime business manager, Curtis Polk. They were joined by Front Row Motorsports, a team owned by entrepreneur Bob Jenkins that won the 2021 Daytona 500. The two were the only teams out of 15 to refuse to sign renewals on the charter agreements NASCAR presented to them in late 2024.
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All 15 teams had been fighting for more favorable terms in the charter agreements over more than two years of negotiations, and the final terms fell short of what the teams had been seeking. 23XI and Front Row accused NASCAR of being a monopoly and sued under antitrust grounds.
What is a charter?
The charter system was introduced in 2016 and is NASCAR’s version of the franchise model used by most other professional sports leagues. Being chartered guarantees that car a spot in the 40-car field for all 38 races, as well as a defined payout from the weekly purse.
Even with the charters, the teams have argued that the revenue model is not viable. The teams wanted the charters to become permanent (they are renewable and revocable), a larger percentage of revenues and a voice in governance.
23XI and Front Row felt the new charter agreements fell short of meeting those demands and refused to sign. The two organizations argue NASCAR holds too strong of a hold on all aspects of the racing series and allege a monopoly based on exclusivity clauses, ownership of most of the race tracks on the Cup schedule, and its control of the rules and regulations.
23XI and Front Row are now also pursuing a large monetary sum from NASCAR to cover their legal fees and financial losses suffered this year from not being chartered plus the lawsuit.
NASCAR’s defense
NASCAR was founded 76 years ago by the Florida-based France family and says it has not violated antitrust law because it has done nothing to restrain trade beyond normal business practices.
NASCAR has argued that payouts in the 2025 charter agreement increased and prove it is not anticompetitive. NASCAR has also cited the option for cars to enter races as “open teams” and try to make the field in one of four nonchartered spots on qualifying speed. 23XI and Front Row have been open teams, and while their combined six cars made every race, it cost both organizations millions of dollars in purse money.
The pretrial discovery process revealed NASCAR made more than $100 million in 2024.
Behind-the-scenes drama
The discovery phase has been brutal for both sides with the exposure of unseemly personal communications from top NASCAR executives as well as the two teams.
Phelps was among leadership who in a discussion with other NASCAR executives called Hall of Fame team owner Richard Childress a “dinosaur,” an “idiot” and a “stupid redneck.” The discussion also included a reference that Childress “owes his entire fortune to NASCAR” and needed “to be taken out back and flogged.”
Another NASCAR executive alleged that fans of the sport can’t read, and multiple series leaders admonished Hall of Fame driver Tony Stewart’s summer short-track series, SRX, and threatened to have it killed because NASCAR drivers were participating.
On the other side, the president of 23XI was found to have said NASCAR chairman Jim France had to die in order to receive favorable charter terms, Hamlin admitted his dislike for the France family, one of Jordan’s advisers said Hamlin wasn’t a good businessman and Jordan joked that he loses more money in a casino than he pays one of his drivers.
Who will be in court?
NASCAR has indicated it wants Rick Hendrick and Roger Penske, the two most powerful team owners in the United States, and neither Hall of Famer wants to testify. They both filed a motion asking not to even be deposed, and if they must be, then the questioning must be limited to charters.
Hendrick and Penske are among a large group of owners who submitted declarations on NASCAR’s behalf in defense of the charter system. The declarations showed unity among the non-suing teams, who do not want the charter system to be disbanded, which could happen if NASCAR loses the case.
But, what NASCAR doesn’t spotlight is that many of the team owners still noted that the 2025 charter agreements are still short of all their asks.
Additionally, NASCAR has asked that Polk and Hamlin of 23XI not be allowed to sit in court ahead of their testimony. A ruling on that had not been made as of Sunday early evening.
Jordan, a North Carolina native who led the University of North Carolina to a national championship and once owned the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets, received an exemption to be in the courtroom for the entire jury. A spokesperson for the two teams said that Jordan and Jenkins plan to be the faces of their case.
What are some outcomes
The case could still be settled at any time, even if a ruling is made and it goes to appeal.
If 23XI and Front Row win, the jury will determine actual monetary damages and Judge Kenneth Bell can adjust the figure and even triple it. Bell also would be charged with unraveling any found monopoly.
Among the threats to NASCAR are orders that the France family sell the sport, sell the tracks it owns, dismantle the charter system, order permanent charters — anything is possible.
If NASCAR wins, it is unlikely that 23XI and Front Row stay in business beyond 2026 and the six charters being held aside likely will be sold to other interested parties. The last charter sold went for $45 million, and NASCAR has indicated there is pressing interest from potential buyers including private equity firms.

If you follow grassroots racing, then you might very well know that Kyle Larson’s mastery of the Turkey Night Grand Prix is the stuff of dirt-racing folklore. The ‘Yung Money’ has won four times at the prestigious event (2012, 2016, 2019, and 2023). And now, a new chapter in Kyle Larson’s legacy at Turkey Nights is being written by his HMS prodigy.
With back-to-back wins, Larson’s young talent has proved that he isn’t just carrying the torch. In fact, he is shaping his own legend in a way. And in a post-race interview, he opened up about the brutally tricky race that pushed him harder than expected.
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Corey Day’s gritty fight
Unlike his win last year, Corey Day didn’t win the Turkey Night Grand Prix simply. Instead, he earned it the hard way. The 20-year-old prodigy revealed that this year’s race pushed him far, much farther than his previous experience and what he expected for this year.
“That race was a little bit harder than it’s been in the past for me. Just the track stayed around a lot longer and there’s multiple lines open whereas years passed it was just one preferred line,” Day explained. “You’re damned if you don’t run bottom the whole race so you get passed on the top, you move on the top, you get passed around in the bottom.”
The track was holding moisture for a lot longer than usual, and multiple racing lines stayed alive deep in the race. This kept Day guessing and adjusting till the end. In the end, though, Day’s instincts paid off.
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Day, who was engaged in a back-and-forth battle with Logan Seavey, where he and Seavey exchanged the lead on nine different occasions, finally took control on Lap 75 of the 98-lap race. From there, he held command till the end to take the checkered flag.
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By the end, he was calm, smooth, and unshaken, even as pressure shadowed every turn. It was the kind of drive that separates contenders from the names fans remember years and even many decades later. Thanks to this win, Day is now among the elites of the Turkey Night GP event.
His win makes him the youngest of just 10 drivers in history to claim multiple Turkey Night titles. Making the victory sweeter was the fact that he had turned 20 only a day before etching his name deeper into the event’s legacy.
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Day matches Bell’s feat
With his second straight Turkey Night Grand Prix win, Corey Day now also finds himself standing beside one of the event’s modern masters – his NASCAR compatriot Christopher Bell. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was the last driver to score back-to-back victories, pulling it off in 2017 and 2018. And if you remember, those wins weren’t flukes either. Bell had to outduel elite competition, including Kyle Larson (in 2018).
Back then, Bell had termed the event as “one of the most fun” races he’d ever run. That’s the benchmark Day just matched. That too, at only 20 years old. But there’s an even bigger comparison lingering in the background: Kyle Larson.
The four-time Turkey Night champion has long been the gold standard. Corey Day is widely considered Larson’s protégé. He is shaped by his driving style, his discipline, and his relentless adaptability.
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This year, though, it wasn’t Larson’s night. After qualifying 14th, he clawed his way through the field. However, in the end, he managed to finish fourth behind Corey Day, Logan Seavey, and Buddy Kofoid. A strong run, yes! But, not the ending he wanted, especially with his protégé stealing the spotlight yet again.
For Day, the parallels are undeniable: he has Bell’s consecutive-win statistic, and he’s slowly chipping away at Larson’s mythic status in the Turkey Night lore. Matching Bell is impressive. Doing it in Kyle Larson’s orbit makes it even louder.

The teams might be busy playing checkers in the NASCAR world right now, but the courtroom is playing something much more complicated and a whole lot higher stakes. As we stand on the eve of the antitrust battle between 23XI Racing/Front Row Motorsports and NASCAR, a quiet twist has emerged. The biggest advantage the plaintiff might have come from NASCAR’s own words. Before the jury even takes the seat, the legal board has shifted in ways no one expected, and one legal expert didn’t shy from pointing it out.
Attorney McMinimee backs Judge Bell’s judgment on market definition
Speaking on the Teardown podcast, Shannon McMinimee broke it down.
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“I think that was a smart choice for Judge Bell,” she said. “Because should the matter end up on appeal, that’s one of those decisions that an appeal court will look at for the first time under a standard called de novo. And the fact that he chose to use the definition that NASCAR put forward to him goes in favor of that decision being held to be appropriate. So big, big question already resolved before trial.”
Long before the trial begins, a court has already accepted one of the central contentions underlying the lawsuit by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports. That NASCAR possesses monopoly power over a narrowly defined market known as “premier stock car racing.”
In November 2025, federal judge Kenneth Bell granted partial summary judgment for the plaintiff, agreeing that the relevant market is “premier stock car racing” (i.e., the entry of cars into NASCAR Cup Series races) and finding that NASCAR holds 100% market share in that market.
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This means that the market definition can’t be contested in court, as it’s implied that NASCAR acts as the sole buyer of services from competing race teams.
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What remains for trial, then, is not whether NASCAR is dominant but whether the sanctioning body unlawfully exercised that dominance by imposing unfair restraints on trade via the charter system, denying teams economic benefits, or structuring participation in ways that disadvantage certain teams.
“So, having to prove that NASCAR’s monopoly no longer on the table and that this is about the top level of racing in the United States, and that’s defined by the national NASCAR touring series. Already resolved,” McMinimee added.
Moreover, and importantly, for appeals or future judicial scrutiny, Judge Bell based his decision on definitions that came directly from NASCAR on filings.
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The court operated NASCAR’s own entry into the NASCAR series definition of a relevant market, a strategic choice because that means the plaintiffs aren’t arguing a novel or artificial market; they are using NASCAR’s admitted scope.
That alignment could make it harder for NASCAR to argue later that the market definition was contrived or unfair, strengthening the plaintiff’s position. But regardless of the outcomes, NASCAR will never look the same again.
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What are the possible outcomes?
The lawsuit could still be resolved at any stage, even after a jury verdict or during an appeal, meaning a settlement remains on the table, no matter how far the process moves.
If 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports prevail, the jury would calculate the financial damages, which Judge Kenneth Bell could adjust or even triple under antitrust law. He will also be responsible for deciding how to unwind any monopoly the court determines exists.
That opens the door for sweeping remedies such as forcing the family to divest from NASCAR, requiring the sale of NASCAR-owned tracks, restructuring or eliminating the charter system, or even mandating permanent charters. Almost anything becomes a legal possibility.
On the other hand, if NASCAR wins the case, the future looks far more uncertain for the two teams. Industry insiders suggest both teams may not be able to continue beyond 2026, and the six charters currently being withheld would almost certainly be sold off to new buyers.
With the most recent charter fetching $45 million and significant interest from investors, including private equity, NASCAR would have no shortage of suitors ready to step in. And now, as we’re just hours away from the lawsuit trial, all eyes and ears are going to be fixed as the organization’s future lies with the jury.

Michael Jordan and Co. are taking NASCAR to court. In October 2024, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports filed a suit against NASCAR under Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. They accused the sanctioning body of anticompetitive practices, especially regarding the charter system. In the meantime, the other 13 of 15 Cup Series teams looked on and watched this legal drama as it unfolded over the past year.
Now, however, a non-participant in the NASCAR lawsuit is getting caught in the legal mess. That is none other than Rick Hendrick, the owner of Hendrick Motorsports, which has won 15 of the last 30 titles. The sheen of protection that Hendrick had due to his lack of participation has dropped.
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Rick Hendrick’s past may come back to haunt him
In an episode of ‘The Teardown’, attorney Shannon McMinimee divulged interesting information. She shared how Rick Hendrick’s past conviction could be a factor in the NASCAR lawsuit. “When a witness testifies to evidence of a prior crime that was a felony that carried more than a year or more of jailtime, to be admitted so that the jury can weigh the credibility of the witness. There is an exception related to pardons if the pardon happened more than 10 years ago. But it is specific to what the pardon was granted for. Was it a pardon for which they found rehabilitation, or where they found actual innocence?”
Rick Hendrick‘s automotive empire started in his early ’20s, but he had no dearth of hiccups. In the mid-1990s, he was involved in a kickback scheme at American Honda Motor Co., Inc. Some dealers were accused of bribing Honda officials to obtain franchises and scarce new vehicles. Accordingly, a federal grand jury indicted Hendrick on conspiracy, fraud, and money-laundering charges in 1996. After losing car dealerships and gaining a year of confinement, Hendrick received a pardon from President Bill Clinton in 2001.
This past may be in the spotlight as the NASCAR lawsuit enters its trial date on Monday, December 1st. On November 11th, Federal Judge Kenneth Bell ruled that team owners Rick Hendrick and Roger Penske must make themselves available as witnesses for depositions without any limitations on the topics. Both filed a brief to limit the deposition topics. The brief stated that they “agreed to give limited testimony regarding non-confidential matters at the trial of this case, but in a way that did not force them to ‘take sides’ in the lawsuit.”
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However, Judge Bell denied this request and said, “The trial of this matter will be publicly and fairly contested under the relevant rules and law, without regard to the notoriety of the companies and individuals involved. No company or individual will be accorded special treatment.”
Clearly, Rick Hendrick’s predicament is under the spotlight with the upcoming trial. And the tensions extend beyond Hendrick to cover the entire sport.
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A turning point in the sport’s history
In a 77-year-old sport that hosts stock car races, the most important moment will be off-track. It will unfold in a courtroom instead, with the highly contentious NASCAR lawsuit hitting its trial date. And fans and members of the sport are glued to this case, as its outcome could rip apart the top motorsports series in the United States. The discovery phase has already brought out bitter inside information. This includes salacious personal communications, NASCAR’s finances, and a deep contempt between some of the top executives.
60-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner, Denny Hamlin, is quite keen on the trial. He is also the co-owner of 23XI Racing and had the Cup Series championship slip through his fingers less than a month ago. He issued a warning last weekend during the two-week trial in the Western District of North Carolina. “Our fans have been brainwashed with (NASCAR’s) talking points for decades. Lies are over starting Monday morning. It’s time for the truth. It’s time for change.”
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The NASCAR world’s attention will be on the lawsuit for the next two weeks. Let’s wait and see what unfolds.

On December 1, the NASCAR antitrust lawsuit finally goes to trial, ending months of escalating drama that’s gripped the sport like a season-long feud. What began as a dispute over charter renewals between NASCAR and 23XI Racing/Front Row Motorsports has spiraled into something far more explosive. Leaked text messages, heated emails, and behind-the-scenes power plays have painted an unfiltered picture of how tense and personal the standoff became.
Now, with the trial set to begin, the case has evolved beyond contracts and dollars. The spotlight is shifting toward the people who may hold the most sway with the jury. These are unexpected voices whose testimony could reshape the narrative entirely. And among them, according to a civil law expert, are Roger Penske and Heather Gibbs.
Heather Gibbs and Roger Penske enter the NASCAR lawsuit picture
“They’re [NASCAR] very invested in Rick Hendrick and Roger Penske testifying to take the chance of naming them late in the case as they did and depose before the trial,” said civil law expert Shannon McMinimee. “They clearly think that those are gonna be strong witnesses for them, and it is unusual to name people that you are out there saying are great witnesses for you as late as they did.”
She went on to say, “I think there are some people who are not parties to this case whose testimony is really gonna matter. I think one person whose testimony stood out to me was Heather Gibbs, who represented JGR in the negotiations.”
NASCAR CEO Jim France had previously pushed hard for both Hendrick and Penske to appear, confident that their testimony would bolster NASCAR’s defense in the antitrust showdown. But neither team owner was eager to take the stand. Both attempted to limit or narrow their involvement, filing motions to avoid broad questioning.
However, that effort didn’t go far. U.S. District Judge Mark Walker denied their attempts, ordering full depositions and trial testimony. Their words now carry potential weight that could tilt the scales in unpredictable ways. Moreover, McMinimee believes the true influence may come from witnesses outside the central dispute.
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Heather Gibbs brings a rare combination of personal connection and business clarity. As the widow of Coy Gibbs, she stepped into the role of preserving the family’s racing legacy, providing strategic advice and support to the entire management team. At the same time, she also became one of the most trusted real estate agents for NASCAR’s elite. She is often involved when major team owners buy or sell property.
During the heated charter negotiations, she authored a measured yet deeply personal letter urging NASCAR leadership to reconsider the structure and inequities teams faced. According to deposition transcripts, Jim France did not respond warmly to her concerns.
As the long-awaited trial begins, the unexpected influence of Penske, Hendrick, and especially Heather Gibbs could shape how a jury interprets the sport’s shifting balance of power. It could potentially redefine NASCAR’s future for years to come.
Bob Pockrass breaks down a grim scenario for 23XI and FRM
As the trial looms, the bigger question many insiders are asking is simple: What actually happens if NASCAR wins? Veteran journalist Bob Pockrass recently laid out a sobering picture. And according to it, that could reshape the Cup Series landscape overnight.
Pockrass explained that if the sanctioning body prevails, both 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports would immediately find themselves competing as open teams. That means no guaranteed starting spots, no charter-backed revenue, and no safety net. In his breakdown, he emphasized that even with a legal victory of their own, this outcome (while less likely) remains possible for both organizations.
The consequences would be brutal. Without charters, teams lose access to major sponsor negotiations, playoff eligibility, and the financial stability that has allowed smaller and mid-tier outfits to survive. Pockrass noted that the ripple effect could be catastrophic: a year or less before both operations risk shutting their doors entirely.
Reflecting on the stakes, he wrote: “If NASCAR wins the case, 23XI and FRM would have to race as open teams (that could be the case even if 23XI and FRM win, although that’s less likely) — 23XI and FRM likely would shut down within a year pending any appeals.” It’s a stark warning from one of the sport’s most reliable voices, underscoring just how much hangs in the balance.
Adding fuel to the fire, tensions escalated earlier this week when 23XI co-owner Denny Hamlin publicly blasted ESPN senior writer Ryan McGee. Hamlin accused McGee of “brainwashing fans” and crafting what he called a propaganda-driven take on the lawsuit. This is just another sign of how emotionally and politically charged this battle has become.
As both sides brace for courtroom combat, the future of two major NASCAR teams (and perhaps the entire charter model) now stands at a crossroads.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Michael Jordan’s bitter fight against NASCAR heads to federal court Monday in a jury trial that could rip apart the top motorsports series in the United States.
The antitrust allegations leveled by Jordan-owned 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports has exposed salacious personal communications, NASCAR’s finances and a deep contempt between some of the top executives in the sport and its participants.
Three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, who owns 23XI alongside Jordan and less than a month ago had the Cup Series championship slip through his fingers, warned this weekend that the gloves will be off during the two-week trial in the Western District of North Carolina.