Through a brief authored by attorney Jeffrey Kessler, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports on Tuesday told U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell that—contrary to NASCAR’s new assurances—the two teams would be harmed if Bell denies them a preliminary injunction.
The filing comes on the heels of NASCAR telling Bell that it will voluntarily guarantee the eligibility of up to six open teams for starting grid positions for the remainder of the 2025 Cup Series Season. NASCAR also pledged to not sell any additional charters, or, absent Bell’s approval, sell two inactive charters central to the dispute that were previously held by Stewart-Haas Racing. Further, NASCAR assured Bell these policies would continue until completion of the parties’ jury trial, which is scheduled to start on Dec. 1. As NASCAR sees it, these promises render moot the need for an injunction.
23XI and Front Row disagree.
They insist that NASCAR’s assurances fail to eliminate the risk they’d face if disallowed from competing with the same benefits as charter teams, and that an injunction would preserve what they regard as status quo regarding four charters previously issued to 23XI and Front Row and two charters they bought from Stewart-Haas Racing.
Tuesday’s brief illuminates the sharp disagreement between the two sides over charters. It’s almost as if they are describing two different realities.
NASCAR says there are 30 active NASCAR Cup Series charters and two inactive ones. NASCAR can issue up to 40 charters under applicable rules. 23XI and Front Row stress that even if an injunction effectively recognized six additional charters (i.e., the four previously issued and two bought from Stewart-Haas Racing), NASCAR could still offer other charters before reaching 40. Tuesday’s filing says that during a recent court hearing, NASCAR noted that the value of charters to teams is partly a reflection of their scarcity. 23XI and Front Row insist that concern is not at issue.
23XI and Front Row also explain they’re not seeking for Bell to say they own the four charters. Instead, at least as 23XI and Front Row put it, they want Bell to express “that no one owns those charters” at this time.
As to the two Stewart-Haas Racing charters, 23XI and Front Row believe it should be acknowledged they own them. NASCAR disputes that. 23XI and Front Row object to treating the transactions to purchase the charters as being unwound. Along those lines, 23XI and Front Row emphasize that the purpose of a preliminary injunction is to preserve the status quo—which they contend would be jeopardized if NASCAR could petition Bell to sell the Stewart-Haas Racing charters.
Tuesday’s filing includes a statement by NASCAR. While the association says it opposes the relief sought by 23XI and Front Row, it “stands by the voluntary commitments” it made last week. NASCAR also says the remedy sought by 23XI and Front Row would “violate the status quo.” That would allegedly occur by “requiring any charter NASCAR issues to be treated as if [23XI and Front Row] hold charters, even though the charters ‘don’t belong to them,’ as [Bell] has made clear.” In addition, NASCAR warns that the contract rights of teams that have accepted charters—and the accompanying responsibilities and legal waivers—would be jeopardized if 23XI and Front Row could obtain the same benefits in a preferred status.
Bell will consider the arguments as he weighs whether to grant or deny the motion for an injunction.
