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Michael Jordan’s NASCAR team has taken another loss in its ongoing legal battle with the racing circuit.
23XI Racing, as well as Front Row Motorsports, will compete as open teams this weekend at the NASCAR Cup Series event at Dover Motor Speedway, after a federal judge denied their request to retain their charter status, which is essentially the sport’s version of being a franchise.
For now, the teams—which first sued NASCAR in October—won’t lose their spots in upcoming events. But without charter status, guaranteed entries would eventually go away, and they would be forced to individually qualify for races.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell made the decision Thursday as he continues to weigh the validity of a preliminary injunction that the teams had originally secured in December, but then had vacated in June. His final decision should come within the next few weeks.
“We are disappointed that the court declined to grant 23XI and Front Row Motorsports a temporary restraining order to allow the teams to continue racing as chartered teams,” Jeffrey Kessler, the attorney representing both teams, said in a statement. “We remain confident that our motion for a preliminary injunction is legally warranted and necessary, and we look forward to the court’s full review.”
The lawsuit has been scheduled to go to trial Dec. 1.
Not Backing Down
NASCAR began new seven-year, $7.7 billion media-rights deals this season, and 23XI and Front Row have been arguing that teams deserve a larger share of the sport’s revenue split. Under the latest agreement, teams receive 49% of media-rights revenue.
“We made the decision to bring this lawsuit to challenge NASCAR’s monopolistic practices and bullying tactics, and we are not going to let them push our teams—or others—out of the sport that they love,” Kessler also said in the statement. “We are confident in the merits of our case and the teams remain focused on competing this weekend and continuing their playoff push.”
Both 23XI drivers are currently in playoff position. Tyler Reddick is 4th in the Cup Series standings, and Bubba Wallace is 13th, ahead of the round of 16 beginning Aug. 31. None of Front Row’s three drivers are in the top 20.
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