NBA legend Michael Jordan appeared in federal court in Charlotte North Carolina on Monday. Jordan appeared due to an anti-trust lawsuit he filed against NASCAR with two other NASCAR owners.
Jordan is the co-owner of 23XI Racing. 23XI, with Front Row Motorsports, filed suit against NASCAR and its chairman Jim France on October 2 and released an official statement on its website.
“In a joint statement, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports said, “We share a passion for racing, the thrill of competition, and winning. Off the racetrack, we share a belief that change is necessary for the sport we love. Together, we brought this antitrust case so that racing can thrive and become a more competitive and fair sport in ways that will benefit teams, drivers, sponsors, and, most importantly, fans.”
”NASCAR and the France family operate without transparency, have stifled competition, and control the sport of stock car racing in ways that unfairly benefit them at the expense of team owners, drivers, sponsors, partners, and fans, through the following anti-competitive practices:
- Buying a majority of the premier racetracks that are exclusive to NASCAR races;
- Imposing exclusivity deals on NASCAR-sanctioned racetracks;
- Acquiring Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA), the only notable stock car racing series competitor;
- Preventing teams from participating in any other stock car races, while also retaining ownership over Next Gen parts and cars; and
- Forcing teams to buy their parts from single-source suppliers chosen by NASCAR.
”No other major professional sport in North America is run by a single family that enriches themselves through these kinds of unchecked monopolistic practices.
”Central to the lawsuit are the original NASCAR charters adopted in 2016 and the recently updated 2025 agreements, which the 23XI and Front Row Motorsports teams did not sign because of the unfair terms. After more than two years of attempted negotiations over the 2025 agreements, during which NASCAR continually stonewalled and refused to engage constructively, we concluded that litigation was the only way to address the anti-competitive practices of NASCAR and the France family.
”In the coming days, we will file a preliminary injunction to enable our teams to race in the next calendar year under the 2025 charter agreement, while continuing to pursue our antitrust litigation. The filing will seek discovery from both NASCAR and Jim France related to their exclusionary practices and intent to insulate themselves from any competition. 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports will seek treble damages for the anti-competitive terms that teams have been subject to under the 2016 charter agreement.”
US District Judge Frank D. Whitney has said that a decision on the case will be made by Friday, according to Newsweek.
