Non-party teams asking court for redactions in NASCAR lawsuit documents

With upcoming documents set to be released and unsealed in the NASCAR lawsuit, the non-party teams are asking the court for help. Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Hyak Motorsports, Legacy Motor Club, and others want email addresses and “other personal identifying information” to be redacted or sealed.

After the summary judgment rulings and NASCAR’s counterclaim being thrown out, documents are set to be unsealed that pertain to those matters. If those documents are fully unsealed and unredacted, we are set to get a treasure trove of information.

In a filing submitted on Friday, the non-party teams, those not directly involved in the lawsuit, asked for email addresses and other information related to senior executives to remain sealed or to be redacted. Basically, they don’t want the public to have their contact information.

On top of that, the teams want to avoid business information from getting out. That is fairly standard. But it depends on what the court decides in the NASCAR lawsuit.

“[Non-Party Teams], respectfully move the Court to redact certain unsealed documents to prevent the public dissemination of personal identifying information. In support of this Motion, the Non-Party Teams show the Court as follows:”

The teams then listed 9 different bullets to support their motion. Perhaps the biggest thing going for the teams is no opposition. Neither 23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports, nor NASCAR objects. That tends to make these things move along more easily.

NASCAR lawsuit could bring FOX documents to light

Along with the non-party teams, FOX Sports has asked for a similar motion. The broadcast partner risks having proprietary business information and practices released in this set of documents. If that were to happen, FOX could be vulnerable in the hyper-competitive media landscape we have today.

The NASCAR lawsuit could still go to a settlement. How it has looked recently is that both sides are gearing up for trial. It feels like that is the only way that this ends is with a decision in court. Mediation efforts have proved fruitless so far. Perhaps pressure around Thanksgiving could lead to a settlement.

We have already seen financial numbers released about NASCAR and teams. To avoid more information getting out, NASCAR teams and FOX are asking the court to simply keep documents sealed or perhaps heavily redact them. If not, the public could have their hands on information never intended to be for the public.