Denny Hamlin takes stand as NASCAR antitrust trial begins

With NASCAR's revenue-sharing model at the forefront of 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports' antitrust lawsuit, 23XI co-owner Denny Hamlin took the stand as the first witness Monday in Charlotte, N.C. and testified that it costs $20 million to bring a single car to the track over a 38-race season.

Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 winner, added that the $20 million does not include overhead expenses including business operations and the driver's salary. Front Row and 23XI have argued that the revenue-sharing model prevents some of the race teams from making a profit.

As an example, Hamlin testified that 23XI racing paid a total of $46.2 million for three successive NASCAR Cup Series charters for a team he co-founded with former NBA superstar Michael Jordan.

Front Row owner Bob Jenkins and 23XI declined to sign on for renewal of the charters this year, while the other 13 chartered Cup teams opted in. The charter system was implemented in 2016 by NASCAR, which granted the request of several Cup Series teams.

In his opening statement, the plaintiffs' lead attorney, Jeffrey L. Kessler, said NASCAR capitalized on its power as a monopsony (the lone buyer in that market) to lower prices paid to race teams, which suffered as a result.

NASCAR attorney Johnny Stephenson said in his opening statement that the original charter agreement guaranteed starting spots for all 36 chartered cars while also providing additional money to the charter holders that has continually increased in value, reporting sales in the $45 million range.

"NASCAR paid every cent that was due to the teams for nine years," Stephenson said. "You won't hear that NASCAR broke its word to the teams under the charter agreement."

While Kessler argued that NASCAR's exclusivity agreements and ownership of Cup Series tracks kept teams from earning fair market value, Stephenson noted that NASCAR's acquisition of International Speedway Corporation, which closed in 2019 for $2 billion, had been reviewed by the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division.

"This is not a case about anti-competitive conduct at all," Stephenson said.

In his testimony, Hamlin added that each charter paid $3.5 million more ($12.5 million) to race teams in 2025 compared to the previous charter agreement.

Receiving financial support for his parents while his racing career was just getting started, Hamlin emphasized the importance of teams having a say in NASCAR-mandated costs as a reason for not signing the 2025 charter agreement.

"Schedule, car changes, rule changes -- all those things directly affect our bottom line," said Hamlin, who will return to the stand Tuesday for additional direct testimony along with cross-examination.