Denny Hamlin addresses latest U.S. Court of Appeals ruling in NASCAR lawsuit

Earlier this week, Denny Hamlin and company were dealt a big blow in the NASCAR lawsuit from the U.S. Court of Appeals. In as soon as two or three weeks, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports could have their charters revoked due to the ruling.

23XI and FRM had a few rulings in district court go their way. NASCAR had to acknowledge the teams as chartered organizations. Then, the court made NASCAR approve the sale of two Stewart-Haas charters to those teams.

Today in Michigan, Denny Hamlin was asked about the latest ruling. He is keeping a level head.

“We remain very confident in our case for December 1st [trial],” Hamlin explained, via Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. “We’re confident in it, we feel like facts are on our side, and I think if you listen to the judges, even they mention that we might be in pretty good shape.”

As far as having to race as Open teams, Hamlin is fine with that possibility. Before the injunctions were handed out last December, 23XI and FRM were set to run as Open teams. That has not changed.

“Same as what we said in December is that we’re committed to running this season open if we have to, even before they decided on the injunction,” Hamlin continued. “So, we’re going to race and fulfill all of our commitments no matter what. We’re here to race, our team is here for the long haul, and we’re confident in that.”

Denny Hamlin went on to briefly talk about next steps. His legal team can now appeal to the entire panel of judges in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, or possibly escalate the case to the Supreme Court. Hamlin says they are considering all of their options.

Denny Hamlin assures employees, unsure about SHR charter

When it comes to operating a business, Denny Hamlin has a lot to worry about. What he has said from the beginning to his 23XI Racing organization is that employees will be taken care of.

“We’ve been very transparent with all of our employees during the entire process,” Denny Hamlin said. “Really, every time something comes along, we communicate that before it becomes public. So, we’ve been very transparent, and one of the things that we remain steadfast in is that nothing will change in their lives, and we’re going to make sure everyone’s taken care of, and everyone should plan on work as scheduled.”

What about the Stewart-Haas charter his organization bought? Well, Denny Hamlin wants to keep it, of course. However, he is unsure what will happen if the U.S. Court of Appeals ruling goes into effect. They could lose it.

“We don’t know anything about that quite yet. Whatever it is, we’re going to do whatever they tell us to do.”