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Retired basketball superstar Michael Jordan appeared in Charlotte, NC federal court on Monday after he and two of his fellow NASCAR team owners filed suit against the auto racing association for alleged antitrust violations.
Jordan, who co-owns 23XI Racing alongside three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, sat in the front row of the gallery and listened intently as antitrust lawyer Jeffrey Kessler asked for a temporary injunction that would allow the former Bulls star’s team to compete in races while challenging NASCAR’s business model.
Jordan’s team 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, which is owned by restaurant entrepreneur Bob Jenkins, filed suit against NASCAR and chairman Jim France last month after months of tense negotiations over NASCAR’s charter system.
The two teams say NASCAR gave all Cup Series teams a last-minute, take-it-or-leave-it offer in September that both 23XI and Front Row refused to sign.
The owners contend the charter system limits competition by unfairly binding teams to the series, its tracks and its suppliers, and they called the France family and NASCAR “monopolistic bullies.”
The two teams are represented by Kessler, the top antitrust lawyer in the country, who argued repeatedly they are only asking for a temporary injunction that allows them to compete without the clause that would prevent their ongoing lawsuit.
He said NASCAR has since rescinded the charter agreements offered to 23XI and FRM in September.
“We do not challenge the entire charter agreement. We want a return to status quo,” Kessler said.
“We are not seeking a seven-to-14-year argument. Let us operate under the terms they offered for the duration of the (court) case and race under the charter terms for the duration of the case.”
Kessler said NASCAR is fighting the injunction because NASCAR does not believe it has a winnable case.
The fight is playing out as NASCAR heads into its championship weekend, with the title-deciding race set for Sunday in Phoenix with 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick among the four drivers who can win.
After a hearing that lasted nearly two hours, US District Judge Frank D. Whitney said he’d have a decision on 23XI and FRM’s request for a preliminary injunction to be recognized in 2025 as chartered teams by Friday — when cars hit the track in Phoenix to begin preparations for the title-deciding race.
Jordan said he didn’t think the legal battle would detract from 23XI’s effort to win the championship with Reddick.
“No, I’ve been in situations of disparity. I think the race team is going to focus on what they have to do this weekend, which I expect them to do,” Jordan said.
“I think Jeffrey did an unbelievable job today, and I think I put all my cards on the table. I’m looking forward to winning a championship this weekend.”
At issue before the court is 23XI and FRM’s request to be released from a clause in NASCAR’s agreement that prohibits teams from suing the sanctioning body.
Both teams have said they will operate as “open” teams in 2025 if they don’t receive the injunction, but even that agreement prevents them from suing NASCAR.
Also, an “open” team is not guaranteed a spot in the weekly 40-car field, does not receive the same amount of revenue as chartered teams, and its drivers and sponsors potentially could leave because they are associated with unprotected chartered teams.
The charter system began in 2016 and has now twice been extended, with the deals signed by 13 organizations set to run from 2025 through 2031.
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