December 19 — that’s the hard deadline Judge Kenneth Bell has given for the NASCAR lawsuit. He made it crystal clear he doesn’t want to let this trial drag a minute beyond it. Yet as Week 2 of one of the most consequential legal battles in NASCAR history kicked off, the pace inside the courtroom remained anything but urgent, and this has started to irk the jury.

23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are still working through their own witnesses, and NASCAR’s attorneys have already signaled they plan to take just as long, effectively “splitting the trial in half.” With both sides digging in, the end of the week no longer looks like a realistic finish line, which has led to frustration among Judge Bell and co.

NASCAR lawsuit: Judge Bell issues a “revolt” warning

The second week of the NASCAR lawsuit trial opened with more frustration than momentum, as the case continued crawling forward with no sign of the headline witnesses taking the stand anytime soon. Jeffrey Kessler, representing 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, laid out the order he intends to follow.

Kessler has planned a lengthy financial analysis from an accountant, followed by testimony from NASCAR President Steve Phelps, then Hall of Fame team owner Richard Childress, and finally NASCAR chairman Jim France. But none of that is happening quickly enough for U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell.

Bell has warned both sides several times that they must accelerate the pace of the NASCAR lawsuit. And Monday only tested his patience further. The day started late after Bell had to handle a stack of filings submitted over the weekend, including objections arriving as early as 2:55 a.m. and 6:50 a.m. He spent an hour issuing rulings before testimony could resume, already pushing the schedule 30 minutes behind.

Once the jury was dismissed for a break, Bell again made it clear that the trial cannot drift past his hard December 19 deadline. Kessler insisted he hopes to finish presenting his witnesses by Tuesday. However, the judge fired back that the jury would “revolt” if the case stretched to 15 days instead of 10.

The morning finally wrapped up testimony from Jonathan Marshall, executive director of the Race Team Alliance, who spent a second day outlining the tense negotiations over NASCAR’s revenue model. Marshall revealed that just one week before NASCAR delivered its take-it-or-leave-it final offer to the teams, a preliminary version appeared acceptable: major team owners (Joe Gibbs, Rick Hendrick, and Roger Penske) had all indicated they were prepared to sign.

As the trial lurches forward, Bell’s warnings grow sharper, and the pressure increases on both sides to pick up the pace before the court’s patience and the calendar run out.

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Michael Jordan’s testimony sends shockwaves

Retired NBA great and 23XI co-owner, Michael Jordan, took the stand at the landmark NASCAR lawsuit Friday and delivered exactly the kind of moment the second week of the trial had been building toward. Testifying before a packed courtroom, Jordan explained that although he has been a fan of NASCAR since childhood, he ultimately felt he had no choice but to join the lawsuit pushing for sweeping changes to the sport’s business model.

Jordan held the jury’s attention for a full hour, his celebrity drawing quips from both Judge Kenneth Bell and even a defense attorney. But once he began describing why 23XI Racing chose to stand alongside Front Row Motorsports in challenging NASCAR, the tone grew serious. Delivering one of the NASCAR lawsuit trial’s most gripping lines, Jordan said:

“Someone had to step forward and challenge the entity. I sat in those meetings with longtime owners who were brow-beaten for so many years trying to make change. I was a new person, I wasn’t afraid. I felt I could challenge NASCAR as a whole. I felt as far as the sport, it needed to be looked at from a different view.”

His testimony came immediately after dramatic moments from Heather Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing’s daughter-in-law, who detailed the intense, chaotic six-hour window during which teams were forced to sign an extension or risk losing their charters entirely. Jordan’s appearance only amplified the urgency surrounding those revelations.

Jordan praised NASCAR chairman Jim France personally, but he also made clear that the system France oversees needs a fundamental reset. He continued with another pointed statement that echoed across the courtroom:

“I’m not discrediting the things NASCAR has done for the sport but I’m pushing them to be better. The risk is to the drivers and the teams. The credit is not being given to the drivers who risk their lives every week without an insurance policy or union. There is nothing to benefit them.”

His words struck at the heart of the lawsuit: the claim that teams operate on razor-thin margins, absorb disproportionate risks, and lack the protections and leverage seen in other major sports. Jordan’s testimony didn’t just raise eyebrows. It raised the stakes. And as Judge Bell continues urging both sides to speed up the trial, Michael Jordan ensured that the pressure, both legal and public, is now higher than ever.