Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick, Joe Gibbs among NASCAR team owners named in filing vs. Michael Jordan, Denny Hamiln, 23XI

A filing tonight from NASCAR and Jim France in the ongoing antitrust lawsuit with 23XI Racing and Front Row has taken a new turn. The sanctioning body has submitted a request for summary judgment regarding the Sherman Act violations that the teams have accused NASCAR of. The filing includes statements from multiple Cup Series team owners.

The Defendants, NASCAR and Jim France, are requesting that Judge Kenneth Bell give summary judgment regarding the alleged violations of the Sherman Act Sections 1 and 2. There are multiple reasons listed as to why the Defendants believe summary judgment is appropriate in this situation.

Team owners such as Rick Hendrick, Richard Childress, Joe Gibbs, Brad Keselowski, and more voluntarily provided statements as part of the filing. Those statements are all centered around the charter system, the desire of the owners to see it continue, and their desire to see the charters become permanent.

“Charters delivered guaranteed entry into Cup Series races for Charter holders, which provided stability and a more predictable business model that helped Hendrick Motorsports in myriad areas, including sponsorship sales – a critical revenue source for race teams in NASCAR,” Rick Hendrick wrote in his statement.

“Most importantly, the Charter system has delivered on the teams’ goal of creating long-term equity value, as evidenced by the increasing sales prices of Charters in recent years. I believe the potential loss of Charters (i.e., reverting to the system that was in place prior to 2016, as opposed to improving upon the current Charter system) represents an existential threat to Hendrick Motorsports and other Cup Series race teams. It would jeopardize our business and risk the jobs of thousands of people who rely on our industry.”

Throughout all of the letters from team owners, the same message is there. Charters are the only reason why this sport is able to work the way it does currently. In fact, it is so important that these teams want to see them become permanent.

Team owners representing these teams filed statements included in the NASCAR filing: Hendrick Motorsports, RFK Racing, Richard Childress Racing, Team Penske, Joe Gibbs Racing, Garage 66, Live Fast Motorsports, Hyak Motorsports, Rick Ware Racing, Legacy Motor Club, and Wood Brothers Racing.

Why NASCAR filing, team owner statements matter

It is interesting that NASCAR has made this filing. Clearly, they would like to see the court throw this case out, essentially, with summary judgment. While that is a possibility, it doesn’t seem likely with the way this case has played out to this point.

The lawsuit continues to take twists and turns. This filing is the latest. Permanent charters are something to note. During past filings, NASCAR has stated it’d rather not mess with charters. So, maybe the lawsuit is making them change their minds? This could really be a major blow to 23XI and Front Row if the court follows through.

NASCAR claims the alleged Sherman Act violations are mostly time-barred. Meaning they happened outside of the statute of limitations. NASCAR also points out that teams voluntarily released their claims to the charters. It is mostly a straight denial of the allegations from the plaintiffs.

The court will ultimately make the decision. During the proceedings, Judge Bell has warned both sides. The judge believes that a trial would radically change the sport. That the trial wouldn’t satisfy either side. Still, we appear to be headed for that trial in less than two months now.

How will the teams respond to this newest filing from NASCAR? Is this enough to bring the two sides together to reach a settlement? It feels like NASCAR has made a big move with the team owner statements as well. That could cause an awkward garage area…