“NASCAR Faces Potential Defeat”: 23XI and FRM Secure Legal Victory as Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan’s Team Keeps 2025 Charters, Sparking Fan Reactions
Denny Hamlin, Michael Jordan, and Bob Jenkins achieved a pivotal victory that secured their immediate future in NASCAR. On October 2, 2024, they celebrated a significant legal milestone by winning the first round of an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR.
At the initial hearing of the Charter Lawsuit in federal court, NASCAR’s attorney, Chris Yates, announced on behalf of the organization that the number of charters would be reduced to 32. He also confirmed there were no plans to reinstate the four combined charters previously held by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports (FRM).
However, according to Fox Sports journalist Bob Pockrass, the teams have emerged victorious in the preliminary stage of their legal battle, marking an important step forward in the ongoing dispute.
Judge Kenneth Bell has authorized the teams to compete as chartered NASCAR Cup Series teams in 2025, instead of being relegated to open team status, according to the latest court documents.
The ruling also specifies that NASCAR cannot prevent the teams from signing the charter agreement or obstruct their efforts to acquire former Stewart-Haas Racing charters they had intended to purchase.
This decision comes after a prior setback in November, when Judge Frank D. Whitney denied the teams’ initial motion for a preliminary injunction, stating they had not sufficiently demonstrated that losing the charters would cause irreparable harm.
