23XI, FRM vs. NASCAR lawsuit: Judge Bell levels warning of jury revolt

As the NASCAR lawsuit takes us into Day 4 of the trial, District Judge Kenneth Bell has issued a warning to both sides. Judge Bell is concerned that the pace of the trial is not going along quickly enough. So, he wants both legal teams to make sure they are keeping arguments concise and direct.

Judge Bell waited for the jury to leave the courtroom. Once they did, he told both sides that they needed to hurry up, because a third week of this trial is not going to work. The jury would be very upset at everybody in that case.

23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are supposed to finish up their arguments by Tuesday or Wednesday. Then, NASCAR will have the rest of the time to make its defense. Judge Bell doesn’t feel like this pace is cutting it.

“Judge Bell has issued a warning to both sides to pick up the pace,” Toby Christie of Racing America reports. “The trial cannot drag to three weeks long, or the jury will revolt. He says both sides need to instruct their witnesses to just quickly answer hard questions instead of trying to deny obvious facts, and that exhibits need to stop beating horses past their death date.”

Judge Bell has issued a warning to both sides to pick up the pace. The trial cannot drag to three weeks long, or the jury will revolt. He says both sides need to instruct their witnesses to just quickly answer hard questions instead of trying to deny obvious facts, and that…

— Toby Christie (@Toby_Christie) December 4, 2025

It sounds like the judge doesn’t appreciate witnesses not wanting to answer questions. That is not an uncommon issue, but it is one that Judge Bell is going to attempt to clean up. He could even intervene and get witnesses to answer more directly himself. Multiple reports from the courtroom say Bell could also institute a clock for witnesses to speed things along.

NASCAR lawsuit goes into Day 5 of trial

Tomorrow will mark the fifth day of the trial. When this trial date was set over a year ago, it felt like we would surely not make it there. Yet, here we are. Earlier today, Bob Jenkins finished up his testimony. The Front Row Motorsports owner was asked his finances and past dealings with NASCAR.

One shocking revelation is how much it costs teams to repair cars that aren’t even wrecked. Each week, the nose and tail of each Next Gen car is sent to the vendor. The vendor repairs the parts, wrecked or not, and charges $30,000 per car. For a three-car team, that’s $90,000 in repairs each week for cars that aren’t even “wrecked.” Multiply that by 38 races a year and see what you get.

We will see what the sped-up trial looks like tomorrow. Court resumes, and the NASCAR trial enters Day 5. Everyone is anxiously waiting to see what the ruling will be in the end. When it is over, who will actually come out on top?