What settlement in antitrust case between 23XI Racing/Front Row Motorsports and NASCAR means

After a legal saga that stretched over 14 months and went to trial on Dec. 1, 23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports and NASCAR finally settled the teams' antitrust case against NASCAR on Thursday. 

The settlement came on the ninth day of court proceedings in the trial. Here are the biggest takeaways from the settlement and what it means for NASCAR moving forward. 

Charters are now permanent

The genesis of the dispute between the teams and NASCAR stemmed from the new charter agreement that was presented to NASCAR Cup Series organizations in September 2024. Charters are the NASCAR equivalent of franchises for race teams, and guarantee a spot in every Cup Series race as well as a larger allotment of prize money than a non-chartered team would receive. 

23XI and FRM sued NASCAR and the France family in October 2024 for "monopolistic control" over the sport, citing the unfair terms in the 2025 charter agreement. That included the fact that charters, which cost tens of millions of dollars for teams to purchase, were not made permanent in the new agreement. 

That left teams buying charters with a dilemma — if, in the future, NASCAR's charter system was no longer in place, they had essentially spent $30 million on a piece of paper that could one day be worthless. 

But after Thursday's settlement, that will not be the case. 23XI/FRM attorney Jeffrey Kessler said that NASCAR has agreed to evergreen charters. 23XI and FRM will also get their charters back ahead of the 2026 season after having to run their six combined Cup Series entries as open teams over the back half of the 2025 season. 

A long, messy legal battle is over

Over the course of the last 14 months, it's safe to say that the legal battle between NASCAR and the teams has not been the prettiest sight to see. Neither side has been particularly gracious to the other, and as the case continued to drag on, things only got nastier. 

In late November, text messages released as part of the case revealed that NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps had called team owner Richard Childress — who testified in the case on Tuesday — a "stupid redneck." Messages also revealed NASCAR's fear that the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX), a stock-car racing series that lasted from 2021-23, was a potential rival, with Phelps saying NASCAR needed to "stick a knife" in the series.

But with the trial finished and a settlement reached, the attention surrounding NASCAR can finally be fully returned to the on-track action with two months remaining until the 2026 season begins. 

NASCAR has made "progress"

Perhaps the most high-profile individual involved in the case was 23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan — yes, the same Michael Jordan who won six NBA championships and will go down as one of the greatest players in basketball history. 

Jordan, who grew up a NASCAR fan, said in a statement on Thursday that NASCAR made progress through the case.

"From the beginning, this lawsuit was about progress," Jordan said. "With a foundation to build equity and invest in the future and a stronger voice in the decisions ahead, we now have the chance to grow together and make the sport even better for generations to come."