Why NASCAR countersuit against 23XI Racing, FRM was dismissed — and what’s next
The court has thrown out NASCAR’s countersuit against the NASCAR Cup Series teams it has been legally entangled with for over a year.
On Tuesday, Judge Kenneth Bell granted the motion for summary judgment brought forth by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, meaning that NASCAR’s counterclaims about the teams illegally conspiring to work together during charter negotiations have been dismissed.
Such is an important development in the antitrust lawsuit between NASCAR and plaintiffs 23XI and FRM. This means that if the case goes to trial, the proceedings would only be litigating the original lawsuit — whether or not NASCAR is a monopoly.
The trial is scheduled for December.
“We are thankful for Judge Bell’s thoughtful consideration of the facts and the law, and his decision to grant summary judgment in my clients’ favor against the NASCAR counterclaim,” the teams’ attorney Jeffrey Kessler wrote in a statement after the decision Tuesday. “Today’s decision has only reaffirmed my clients’ unwavering pursuit of a more fair and equitable sport.
“Their determination remains strong as we continue our efforts for a resolution that benefits everyone — teams, drivers, employees, partners and fans.”
NASCAR, too, provided a statement after Tuesday’s ruling.
“We respect the court’s decision, though we respectfully disagree with its legal reasoning,” NASCAR wrote. “Our priority remains resolving this matter quickly so all parties can focus on championship weekend and continuing to grow the sport. Should a resolution not be reached, we intend to appeal the decision at the appropriate time.”
The NASCAR Cup Series championship is scheduled to run this weekend at Phoenix Raceway.
According to reporting from Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic, a settlement between the two parties could be announced this week. Such a resolution was close to being settled during the two-day judicial settlement conference last week — but negotiations broke down in the final hours, according to the report.
Bell’s reasoning for dismissing NASCAR’s countersuit revolved around two points.
The first is that NASCAR failed to establish an agreement to unreasonably restrain trade, “which is necessary to establish liability under Section 1 of the Sherman Act.” He added: “As the court explained in its earlier order ... and confirms here after considering the full record, joint selling (or buying) efforts are not always per se antitrust violations.”
The second, per Bell: “NASCAR has failed to sufficiently establish that it suffered the required ‘antitrust injury’ as a result of the allegedly unlawful ‘joint negotiations’ and other conduct.”
This is the latest milestone in a lawsuit that began in October 2024, when 23XI Racing — co-owned by sports icon Michael Jordan and Cup Series driver (and Championship 4 contender) Denny Hamlin — and Front Row Motorsports sued NASCAR on the grounds that the American motorsport sanctioning body was a monopoly.
The catalyst to such legal action revolved around the charter negotiations ahead of the 2025 season. Ultimately, 13 of the 15 NASCAR Cup Series teams signed the charter agreement — which details media rights money for each team and each team’s percentage of the purse for each race, among other benefits — with 23XI and FRM opting to not sign.
After the lawsuit was filed, NASCAR contended in a countersuit that the two teams acted as an “illegal cartel” that tried to unlawfully manipulate charter negotiations for better terms in the 2025-31 agreement — by taking action that included but wasn’t limited to boycotting important meetings. This was dismissed Tuesday.
This story was originally published October 28, 2025 at 7:36 PM with the headline "Why NASCAR countersuit against 23XI Racing, FRM was dismissed — and what’s next."
