Judge Bell calls out NASCAR, threatens punishment for violating court rules amid 23XI, FRM lawsuit trial

During the questioning of Front Row Motorsports owner Bob Jenkins, NASCAR was called out by Judge Kenneth Bell during the trial. Day 3 ended with stern warnings from Bell after NASCAR’s legal team violated court orders and evidentiary rules.

NASCAR, while questioning Bob Jenkins, brought up a quote from Jeff Dickerson that was not supposed to be entered into evidence. The Defendants’ legal counsel then tried to pry into Jenkins’ non-NASCAR business finances, which had been decided pre-trial to be off limits.

Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports reports that there will be “significant consequences” for NASCAR if they violate orders and rules again, like they did today. Day 3 and already a caution flag in this trial for NASCAR and their attorneys.

Court done for day and Bob Jenkins testimony will continue into morning. Judge admonished NASCAR attorneys for two violations of evidentiary orders and said any additional violations will result in significant consequences.

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) December 3, 2025

The warning from Judge Bell is sure to get NASCAR’s attention. NASCAR has done the cross-examining so far in this trial. 23XI and Front Row have been the ones calling up witnesses to start the case. So far, it has been Denny Hamlin, Scott Prime, and Bob Jenkins on the stand.

The NASCAR trial has already had testy moments. Questions have brought out passionate responses from witnesses and attorneys alike.

During the questioning of Jenkins, a few interesting points were brought up. Jenkins only utilizes Long John Silver’s branding on his cars when he needs to. That resulted in five races in 2024. His sons own the fast-food fish chain. The team receives no money from LJS when it sponsors their cars.

23XI Racing paid nearly $1M to NASCAR, trial reveals

23XI Racing filed this antitrust lawsuit claiming that NASCAR has been violating the law to maintain its monopoly on premier stock car racing. There are a lot of finances involved in this case. Today, it was revealed that 23XI paid almost $1 million in fees to NASCAR in the 2024 season.

Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal posted the exhibit on Twitter/X. It shows fees for Pre-License Drug Testing, NASCAR Licenses, Entry Fees, NASCAR Penalties, Internet & Data Analytics, and SMT Analytics. In total, 23XI paid NASCAR $994,569.00.

23XI Racing and Front Row filed the lawsuit over alleged antitrust violations. The story that the teams want to paint is one that shows NASCAR as a restrictive sanctioning body that represses the teams’ ability to flourish competitively and financially through illegal means.

Teams have access to everyone else’s SMT Data in the Cup Series. You can see the lines everybody runs, throttle control, brakes, and steering. For the price of $168,357 for internet and data and an additional $42,466 for SMT Analytics specifically, is a hefty price tag. Many drivers and teams have floated the idea of taking that access away and limiting it. However, that’s not why the teams brought up these numbers in this trial.