Team Owner Skeptical Over NASCAR’s Courtroom Admissions Amid Ongoing Lawsuit Drama

The NASCAR courtroom is turning into a lyrical brawl. During the August 28 hearing, when private texts and emails from Michael Jordan and NASCAR top brass reached the public eye, they did sting. NBA royalty pulled zero punches against teams that signed the NASCAR charter deal, calling them outright “f——“ and “p——“ in a fiery exchange with his business manager. NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps called negotiations “zero wins for the teams” if comparisons didn’t land. There were even darker digs; Steve Lauletta, the president of 23XI, texted, “Jim France dying is probably the answer.” With such raw emotion spilling from both sides, the tension is off the charts, and now Michael Jordan isn’t backing down from round 2 of this fight.

Two NASCAR teams, including one co-owned by NBA legend Michael Jordan, came out swinging in Federal court, making their case for a preliminary injunction to hang onto charter status until their blockbuster antitrust fight with stock car racing’s top brass hits its December 1 trial date. Their 11-page salvo in the US District Court for the Western District of North Carolina dropped just days after NASCAR suddenly told Judge Kenneth Bell it would freeze charter red distribution while the case drags on.

And amid this, Dan Towriss, majority owner of Spire Motorsports and investor in Cadillac F1, Andretti Global, and other motorsports outfits, isn’t hiding his frustration. Speaking after last weekend’s IndyCar finale, he said, “We had meetings with the NASCAR brass a few weeks ago and it’s ‘How can we help?’ What we saw (in court), what was released in that case is very inconsistent with what they (NASCAR) say privately. And so I need to understand, ‘Who am I dealing with? Which one is it? Is it the people we meet with privately, or is what you say when we’re not around?’”

After a no-holds-barred hearing that spilled expletive-packed emails and texts from Jordan and other big-name players into the public record. NASCAR says it means 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports face no irreparable harm. But the teams fired back a day ago, warning that the risk is very much alive, citing potential breach of contract claims from their irreplaceable drivers and looming sponsor losses without the security of charter rights.

For 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick, it’s more than hypothetical; his contract says his Toyota must carry a charter or the team’s in breach, and attorney Jeffrey Kessler told the court he has already made that call. He also blasted NASCAR’s pause as a hollow gesture, arguing it “does not moot Plaintiffs’ Motion for preliminary injunction or eliminate plaintiffs’ irreparable withhold, charters relief is provided.” Meanwhile, the 13 chartered teams not suing NASCAR are getting twitchy. Judge Bell warned last week that the entire charter system would be employed without a deal, as some non-swing owners grumble that the fight is already dragging down their team’s values.

At the center of the storm is 23XI Racing, Jordan’s partnership with Denny Hamlin and Bob Jenkins’ Front Row Motorsports. They say NASCAR’s ironfisted control of charters violates antitrust laws. The charter system works like a franchise, locking in a guaranteed grid spot and a bigger payout share. After two years of bruising talks, NASCAR pushed the final agreement last September: 13 teams signed, and the other two did not.

They were initially granted a season-long injunction to keep their charters, but that was overturned, forcing them to run as open teams for NASCAR now. After earning the money during that brief chartered window, NASCAR claimed last week that it had a buyer for one of its six formal charters. That plan was iced after the August 28 courtroom fireworks, and now all eyes are on Judge Bell, who is expected to rule on the injunction later this week.

NASCAR president delivers a hefty gift to other teams amid the lawsuit

NASCAR president Steve Phelps just dangled a fat carrot in front of the 13 Cup Series teams that signed the 2025 charter deal: $1.5 million per charter, but there is a catch. According to The Charlotte Observer’s Alex Zietlow, the payout only happens if 23XI Racing and FRM lose their fight in court later this week.

It’s a move straight out of the NASCAR playbook: strip the rebel teams of their money, then funnel it to the ones who played ball. In a letter to those 13 teams, Phelps promised “an average additional payment of approximately $1.5 million per charter” if the judge shuts down the preliminary injunction request. NASCAR’s 34-page August 18 filing kept the totals redacted, but the math isn’t hard to do. Here is how it stacks up. $838,210 per charter, from redistributing the $25,146,300 NASCAR has already paid the two teams this season in “fixed owner’s payments” and “performance payments” for the first 20 races. And $670,000 per charter if the two teams stay open teams for the rest of 2025.

Attorney Jeffrey Kessler, speaking for the two teams, says his clients see the letter for what it is: an attempt to divide and conquer. Speaking to The Charlotte Observer, he said, “My clients are aware of the letter and its contents. This letter is yet another tactic by NASCAR to divide the teams and distract from the fact of their monopolistic practices. 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are pursuing this lawsuit to change the sport of NASCAR for the benefit of all drivers, fans and sponsors and teams, and believe the teams have much more to gain in the long run by growing the sport for everyone.”

Now, Judge Kenneth Bell is expected to rule this week in the Western District of North Carolina. He has already told both sides to cool it with the courtroom brawling ahead of the December 1 jury trial. But with millions on the line and neither camp blinking, the tension is still redlining. For now, 23XI Racing and FRM are stuck running as non-charted entries, a label they have worn since July.