On Thursday, the preliminary injunction that allowed both 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports to compete as chartered teams during their anti-trust lawsuit against NASCAR was overturned by a federal appeals court.
That could cause both teams to lose their three respective charters and compete as open teams from late June through the rest of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Open teams earn significantly less money from race purses than chartered organizations and also have the opportunity to miss races should more than 40 cars attempt to qualify. However, 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin made it clear that his organization won't be changing anything this year.
"We're committed to running this season (as an open team) if we have to, even before they decided on the injunction," Hamlin told Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass. "We're going to race and fulfill all of our commitments no matter what. We're here to race, our team is going to be here for the long haul and we're confident in that."
Denny Hamlin on the US Court of Appeals vacating the injunction 23XI Racing and Front Row had obtained to race this year as chartered teams. @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/OQM2OnTvYy
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 7, 2025
Front Row and 23XI would not become open teams until the final week of June, but while the on-track impact of running as an open team would be minimal, it's the financial aspect that raises questions, such as the one posed to Hamlin, as to whether 23XI and FRM will compete for the rest of the season.
Still, all signs point to both organizations finishing out the 2025 campaign as the court battle between them and NASCAR rages on.
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