On Monday, Judge Kenneth D. Bell issued a warning. It marked the first day of the NASCAR lawsuit trial, and Judge Bell warned both sides of the case against ‘confrontational’ exhibits. Ever since its launch in October 2024, the lawsuit had turned bitter multiple times. From personal attacks to jaw-dropping text messages, the animosity has been no less. However, the courtroom snubbed NASCAR for attempting to continue that trend on Wednesday.

NASCAR lawsuit touches sensitive topics

Journalist Matt Weaver wrote on X, “Judge Bell admonished NASCAR’s lawyers…Twice they have violated court orders. 1) Asking Bob Jenkins about his non-NASCAR businesses when it was agreed upon in advance that it wasnt on the table and disclosing a Jeff Dickerson text message verbally when it wasnt admissible evidence. Bell said this will not be tolerated and the next time it happens, from either party, there will be significant consequences.”

Outside of his Front Row Motorsports team, Bob Jenkins owns a fast-food franchise. His testimony at the NASCAR lawsuit was eye-opening, as he revealed dire financial crises. He said that the team has lost $16.3 million in the last three years, and approximately $70 million during the last 11 years. Besides FRM dodging profits, even Jenkins has not taken a salary from his team. Instead of running nine races without primary sponsors in 2025, he used his own brands on the cars’ liveries.

These struggles were starkly juxtaposed with NASCAR’s financial disposition. According to 23XI Racing and FRM attorney Jeffrey Kessler, the Florida-based France family earned $400 million over three years. A 2023 evaluation by Goldman Sachs found NASCAR to be worth $5 billion. The pretrial discovery process also revealed that Jim France‘s sport made more than $100 million in 2024.

Hence, Bob Jenkins struck a sympathetic chord amongst the NASCAR lawsuit’s jury, as journalist Jeff Gluck said. The cross-examination that he faced from NASCAR’s attorneys did not sit well with the courtroom at all. A crucial avenue of financial loss for Jenkins was the Next-Gen car. FRM would spend approximately $1.8 million on parts annually before the Gen 7 car’s arrival. And that has since jumped to $4.7 million. Even if the team’s drivers emerge from races unscathed, Jenkins has to bear a $30,000 cost for each car to have its tail and nose returned to the vendor for repairs.

FRM’s dire state of affairs clearly moved the courtroom. However, that was not all, as Denny Hamlin also shared his team’s story.

Dodging a calamitous result

“All it takes is one sponsor to go away, and all our profit is gone,” Denny Hamlin testified for the NASCAR lawsuit on Tuesday. He also continued about not signing the 2024 charter deal. “I didn’t sign because I knew this was my death certificate for the future,” he said, later adding: “I have spent 20 years trying to make this sport grow as a driver and for the last five years as a team owner. 23XI is doing our part. You can’t have someone treat you this unfairly, and I knew it wasn’t right. They were wrong, and someone needed to be held accountable.”

Denny Hamlin, who co-owns 23XI Racing alongside Michael Jordan, outlined a history of losses for his Cup Series team. Three years ago, more than $703,000 was paid to NASCAR for things like entry fees, credentials for team members to enter the track, and even access to Internet signals. Meanwhile, he and Jordan spent $100 million to build the team from scratch. The reason for 23XI’s financial success was simply Jordan’s star power as an NBA legend. Even then, the losses did not stop – the team spends $20 million per Next-Gen car.

Clearly, the revelation of these financial facts are key to deciding the NASCAR lawsuit’s path. Let’s wait and see how it all pans out.