NASCAR's Steve O'Donnell perplexed by 23XI, FRM lawsuit: 'Not sure what they're even asking for'

It’s been nearly a year since 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports filed an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR and its CEO Jim France. The back-and-forth legal battle is ongoing, but NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell still isn’t sure what the teams are asking for, he told Eric Estepp in a one-on-one interview.

“It’s important that everybody knows the teams sued us — we didn’t ask for this. We’re still not sure what they’re even asking for,” O’Donnell said. “Candidly, in terms of an outcome, what we’ve seen really doesn’t have anything to do with why the lawsuit was brought. So, it’s a little bit perplexing.”

NASCAR and 23XI/FRM have been at this since the teams rejected the sanctioning body’s final charter agreement proposal last September. In their initial filing, the teams accused NASCAR and France of “unlawful monopolization of premier stock car racing in order to enrich themselves at the expense of the premier stock car racing teams.”

The latest in NASCAR vs. 23X/FRM lawsuit…

Last month, 23XI and FRM filed another restraining order against NASCAR and a new preliminary injunction in order to save their charter status. NASCAR filed its response late Monday night, opposing the teams’ new injunction request.

In the 34-page document, NASCAR said that the injunction, if granted, would imminently harm it and the Cup Series, per Matt Weaver of The Sporting News. NASCAR has continued to argue that 23XI and FRM do not own their four original charters because they did not sign the charter extension. Both teams also acquired an additional charter from Stewart-Haas Racing.

NASCAR claimed in the filing that “multiple interested parties have expressed interest” in acquiring the charters in question. Requests have come from existing teams, other racing teams and others, according to Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports.

Acquiring the charters in question requires a 30-day bidding process. NASCAR said that needs to start now because any new teams likely need to get started by Oct. 1 to prepare for the 2026 season. The teams officially lost their charter status last month, becoming open teams. NASCAR’s position is that the court cannot force them to be in a business relationship with parties they don’t want to.

NASCAR president: ‘We’re concentrating on just growing the sport’

NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps said last month he doesn’t know what the teams’ demands are, adding that NASCAR would be open to a settlement. O’Donnell, meanwhile, is disappointed that the lawsuit has been topic of conversation this season.

“At the end of the day, NASCAR — we’ve got an 80-year history for our sport. We’ve got owners who are signed up with charters. We’re working hard every day to grow the sport,” O’Donnell said. “I think what’s probably most disappointing for me personally is we’re spending time on this topic versus growing the sport. Not sure our fans want to hear about lawsuits a lot of times. I know it’s out there, but we want to talk about racing, future stars, where we’re going to race next, and horsepower and have those debates.

“We’ll defend the sport and where we are. Hopefully, something can be resolved, but we’re concentrating on just growing the sport. At least, that’s my job on a day-to-day basis.”