NASCAR legal move slammed as 23XI and Front Row attorney issues fiery official statement

The attorney representing Michael Jordan's 23XI and Front Row Motorsports in a lawsuit against NASCAR has slammed the series' countersuit as 'baseless' and 'meritless' in a fiery official statement.

The ongoing legal battle between the two teams and the stock car racing series took a fresh turn on Wednesday, with NASCAR filing a countersuit alleging that 23XI and Front Row had violated antitrust laws.

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The NASCAR countersuit filing read: "The undisputed reality is that it is 23XI and FRM, led by 23XI’s owner and sports agent Curtis Polk, that willfully violated the antitrust laws by orchestrating anticompetitive collective conduct in connection with the terms of the 2025 Charter Agreements."

Elsewhere, the filing continued: “This is not the first time that 23XI and FRM have sought to impose their viewpoints, and those of their counsel, on the racing teams writ large,” NASCAR continued.

“And it is truly ironic that in trying to blow-up the Charter system, 23XI and FRM have sought to weaponize the antitrust laws to achieve their goals.”

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Michael Jordan-owned 23XI release official statement

This is a huge development in the case after NASCAR attempted to have the antitrust lawsuit alleged against themselves thrown out entirely back in January.

After contacting 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports for comment, 23XI and FRM's attorney, Jeffrey Kessler, provided the following statement, labeling NASCAR's legal move as baseless and nothing more than a distraction.

"Today’s counterclaim by NASCAR is a meritless distraction and a desperate attempt to shift attention away from its own unlawful, monopolistic actions," Kessler said. "NASCAR agreed to the joint negotiations that they now attack. When those joint negotiations failed, they used individual negotiations to impose their charter terms, which most of the teams decided they had no choice but to accept.

"My clients' lawsuit has always been about transforming NASCAR into a more competitive and fair sport for the benefit of drivers, fans, sponsors and teams because of their love of the sport. Every major sport goes through a transition to competition when antitrust claims are asserted, and that moment has come for NASCAR.

"Today's baseless filing changes nothing. We are confident in the strength of our case and look forward to presenting it at trial."

NASCAR's counterclaim will be heard at the same time as 23XI and Front Row's own antitrust claim, with a court date scheduled for December 1, 2025.

NASCAR is also appealing the preliminary injunction granted to 23XI Racing and Front Row that allows them to compete as de facto charter teams this season. This argument is set to be heard in May.

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