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Michael Jordan’s racing team will be allowed to compete under NASCAR Cup Series’ charter system after all.
Judge Kenneth Bell ruled Wednesday that Jordan’s 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports will be allowed to compete in 2025 as normal while their antitrust lawsuit progresses toward a possible 2026 trial. Before the case was reassigned to Bell, another federal judge rejected the two NASCAR teams’ request for an injunction that put their 2025 season in doubt.
“The public interest strongly favors entry of a limited preliminary injunction in favor of the Plaintiffs during the 2025 NASCAR race season, both to give fans of stock car racing the opportunity to watch (and root for and against) the full slate of teams and to allow Plaintiffs’ antitrust legal challenges to be considered,” Bell wrote in his 20-page order.
The two teams alleged the France family and NASCAR—which the family has controlled since its inception in 1949—”are monopolistic bullies” and NASCAR’s charter system stifles competition and limits team revenues. Instead of agreeing to a new charter agreement in September that would have eliminated their ability to sue, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports took legal action against NASCAR.
Bell’s decision will require NASCAR to allow the teams to sign a charter agreement—even with pending litigation—and clears the way for 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports to purchase an additional charter each from Stewart-Haas Racing. That will mean each team will be allowed to have three chartered cars in 2025.
The 23XI team is owned by Jordan and Denny Hamlin; Front Row Motorsports is owned by restaurant entrepreneur Bob Jenkins.
“We welcome today’s decision by Judge Bell granting a preliminary injunction in our favor,” Jeffrey Kessler, the attorney for both teams, said in a statement. “We are confident in the strength of our case and will continue to fight so that racing can thrive and become a more competitive and fair sport in ways that benefit teams, drivers, sponsors and, most importantly, our fans.”
A message left with a NASCAR spokesperson was not immediately returned.
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