Finally, the day has come. After months of controversies and exposed scandals, the NASCAR vs 23XI/FRM lawsuit trial has started. But in the packed Charlotte courtroom on Monday, December 1, as U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell scanned the proposed opening statements from both parties, he was irked with a particular aspect of them.

Judge bans visuals and exhibits in opening statements

Both parties, NASCAR and 23XI Racing/Front Row Motorsports directly came in loaded with their visual aids, timelines, and all kinds of graphic data to gain the upper hand immediately. Judge Bell didn’t like this. Reason? A lot of those contained some inadmissible evidence, things that should not be shown to the jury yet.

Annoyed by this, he banned the use of visuals and exhibits for the opening statements and told the parties to simply use words.

“Judge seemed perturbed that both sides’ proposed visual presentations for opening statements included inadmissible evidence or arguments so he banned all visuals and exhibits from opening statements.” Bob Pockrass stated on X.

NASCAR’s visuals leaned heavily on thousands of pages of discovery, including sensitive texts between team principals, while the plaintiffs’ materials previewed expert valuations showing charters worth over $100 million each.

Now, all those charts, emails, and graphics are sidelined, and both sides must rely on strong storytelling alone. This rare move changes the courtroom dynamic dramatically for both parties.

For teams, losing the case could mean a real threat of shutting down.

For NASCAR, losing would mean losing control over how the sport is governed.

The courtroom showdown features heavyweight attorneys. Jeffrey Kessler is representing the teams, and Chris Yates is standing for NASCAR. Both have faced pushback from Judge Kenneth Bell, who urged a settlement, but none has come.

More updates from the courtroom

As the battle begins, both NASCAR and the teams are prepared with their respective witnesses. From NASCAR’s side, the potential list of witnesses includes NASCAR executives like Jim France, Lesa France Kennedy, Ben Kennedy, Brian Herbst, Steve O’Donnell, Steve Phelps, Scott Prime, Tim Clark, Greg Motto, John Probst, and Ron Draeger.

On the other hand, the potential witness list of 23XI and Front Row Motorsports includes Denny Hamlin, Michael Jordan, Curtis Polk, Steve Lauletta, Gene Mason, Bob Jenkins, and Jerry Freeze. Jordan is also the corporate representative of 23XI, who will be present throughout the entirety of the trial.

Meanwhile, the witness list from the non-plaintiff teams includes Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick, Roger Penske, Heather Gibbs, Cal Wells, Steve Newmark, Rob Kauffman, and RTA Jonathan Marshall.

Bob Pockrass, who is intensely covering the trial, tweeted about the jury update.