A day earlier, a professor of economics set off dramatic tones in the NASCAR antitrust lawsuit. Edward Snyder, who has worked with the Department of Justice, testified that NASCAR’s revenue-sharing model lags behind that of F1 in teams’ pay slips. In that regard, he also claimed that 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, the teams behind the lawsuit, are owed $364.7 million. With such a gigantic amount at stake, the sport’s head, Jim France, bizarrely appeared dumbfounded recently.

Jim France builds a diplomatic wall 

“France says he doesn’t remember Joe Gibbs pleading with him on Sept. 6 to ‘don’t do this.’ France says he couldn’t see himself telling Coach ‘if I only get 20 charters back, I get 20 charters back.’ But did he deny it? ‘Im not sure I did,'” Journalist Matt Weaver wrote on X.

Joe Gibbs was just one of the team owners frustrated with the new charter agreement, which was signed in September 2024, as the lawsuit has revealed. Richard Childress was another, along with, of course, Michael Jordan and Bob Jenkins. Nevertheless, Jim France was absolutely mum when Jordan’s attorney, Jeffrey Kessler, grilled him with a series of questions in court. As Matt Weaver revealed on X, France’s answers were mostly “I don’t know” and “I don’t recall.”

“Plaintiffs have finished grilling Jim France, and I don’t think he’s going to be able to skirt the claims of being a “brick wall” in negotiations as “I’m not sure” and “I don’t know” were a constant theme of the testimony,” Toby Christie posted on X. Jeff Gluck added his own take: “Court is done for the day. I don’t think I’m underselling it to say Jim France’s testimony was shockingly bad so far. Just not good at all for NASCAR IMO.”

When Jeffrey Kessler asked Jim France about the consequences for teams if they did not sign the charter deal, the answer took a similarly bland tone. France simply said that if teams backed out, they would not get charters. He also added that NASCAR continued to negotiate for a year even after the email that offered all the options. That included 32 charters, going back to the open or going vertical.

While Jim France did not budge in his testimony, another NASCAR executive revealed crucial information.

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Going up against a headstrong front

Before the lawsuit was ever launched, NASCAR negotiated with the Race Team Alliance for two years. The demands of the RTA included a demand for increased revenue, permanent charters, a voice in governance, and one-third of any new revenue streams. And Curtis Polk, co-owner of 23XI and lead representative for the RTA, did not budge on these demands. That is what Steve Phelps, NASCAR’s commissioner, revealed in the witness stand.

“It was one of the most challenging and longest negotiations I’ve ever been part of,” said Phelps, who admitted he did not particularly enjoy negotiating with Polk, who was at the time the representative for the “Team Negotiating Council.” Phelps continued, “The TNC never wavered off their four pillars. It was just the same thing, the same thing, and that was very frustrating.”

Despite the negotiations, the ultimate revenue payout to teams is $431 million annually; the charters are not permanent, and the teams did not get a voice in rules and regulations. And now, the lawsuit is ongoing.

The NASCAR lawsuit’s latest development has raised eyebrows in the community. Let’s wait and see what further information unfolds.