Dale Earnhardt Jr. dismayed by NASCAR court decision, expresses concern for 23XI, FRM

The latest ruling in the 23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports lawsuit against NASCAR has Dale Earnhardt Jr. concerned for those teams. A ruling from a federal appeals court reversed district court rulings from earlier in the proceedings. As a result, the teams could be in trouble.

The district court in North Carolina ruled on three preliminary injunctions last December. Those rulings made it possible for 23XI and FRM to race as chartered teams. It also allowed them each to purchase one of the Stewart-Haas Racing charters that went up for sale last year.

Following the ruling by the appeals court, those injunctions have been reversed. The teams have a chance to appeal in front of the entire appeals court. However, it could be a damaging blow to the teams. There are millions of dollars on the line between operating as chartered teams versus running as open teams.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. pointed to these concerns on the "Dale Jr. Download." However, this doesn’t mean 23XI and Front Row are totally at a loss.

“That’s fascinating as hell. I did not, in my opinion, it’s a big win for NASCAR,” Earnhardt said on his podcast. “Denny takes the approach that it’s just a small part of the bigger picture in terms of the lawsuit. Which he’s, he’s correct. The lawsuit is about the charter system.

“They want a lot of things different than NASCAR does at how the charters are handled. I would be guessing what those things were, but that’s really what this is all about. It’s not so much trying to race as a chartered team this year, they would love that luxury, but it’s still up in the air whether they’ll get it or not. But NASCAR seemed to win a small battle right there.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. isn’t wrong. This is not the final blow to 23XI and FRM. It could be the start of it, though. The district court judge has essentially asked NASCAR and the teams to find a way to settle their dispute without going to trial.

“It’s hard to picture a winner if this goes to the mat — or to the flag — in this case,” Judge Kenneth Bell said, via Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports. “It scares me to death to think about what all this is costing.”

There are tens of millions of dollars up for grabs. That could easily make or break these teams if it goes on into the 2026 season. Perhaps a settlement would be best. For now, the teams have a couple more weeks as chartered teams. After that, things will get tricky.

If they were to win their appeal, it would be yet another reversal. Given the first decision from the appeals court, it is hard to imagine it being changed again. We will see what happens in the coming weeks.