NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps takes shot at 23XI owners Michael Jordan, Denny Hamlin, Front Row

NASCAR has been engaged in a legal battle with 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports since the two teams rejected the sanctioning body’s final Charter Agreement proposal last September. 23XI and FRM instead decided to file an antitrust lawsuit, accusing NASCAR and its CEO Jim France of “unlawful monopolization of premier stock car racing in order to enrich themselves at the expense of the premier stock car racing teams.”

But nearly a year later, NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps still isn’t sure why the teams are suing them. Phelps said he doesn’t know what the teams’ demands are, adding that NASCAR would be open to a settlement.

“I don’t know what’s gonna happen,” Phelps told John Ourand of Puck. “The lawsuit is supposed to be an antitrust lawsuit. I don’t believe it’s an antitrust lawsuit. I think it’s just a contractual dispute. We had 13 of the 15 charter holders representing 32 teams sign. On balance, if there are winners and losers to the charter extension, I think the teams won. The number one thing the teams wanted was more money, which is exactly what we gave to them.

“We’re either gonna settle or we’re gonna go to court. Do I think we’d be willing to entertain a settlement? Yeah. To date, they have not come with anything. I don’t even know what their demands are. I don’t even know what they’re suing for.”

NASCAR vs. 23XI, Front Row lawsuit takes another turn

The final Charter Agreement proposal came Sept. 6, 2024. 23XI and FRM were the two holdouts among the 15 Cup Series teams. The final offer included a nearly 50 percent increase that teams earned from NASCAR’s record $1.1 billion per year television deal that went into effect in 2025 and also runs through 2031.

Monday, 23XI and FRM filed another restraining order against NASCAR and a new preliminary injunction in order to save their charter status for the remainder of the 2025 season. The teams filed the restraining order and new preliminary injunction after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit denied the teams’ request to rehear their case after a three-judge panel overturned the preliminary injunction which granted charter status to the teams throughout the duration of their lawsuit against NASCAR.

The Court of Appeals initially vacated the preliminary injunction June 5. 23XI and FRM are currently set to lose their chartered status on Wednesday. The teams wanted NASCAR to file a response by Tuesday afternoon. The judge has given NASCAR until 5 p.m. ET Wednesday to respond. Judge Ken Bell of North Carolina’s Western District urged both sides to settle before the case goes to trial Dec. 1.

“It’s hard to picture a winner if this goes to the flag — in this case,” Bell said June 18. “It scares me to death to think about what all this is costing.”