Michael Jordan-owned team strike back as NASCAR lawsuit battle rages on

The ongoing legal battle between NASCAR and the Michael Jordan-owned 23XI Racing team looks set to rumble on for many months to come.

NBA icon Jordan co-owns 23XI Racing alongside NASCAR legend Denny Hamlin and Jordan's business partner Curtis Polk and, together with First Row Motorsports, they launched an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR in 2024.

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In response, earlier this month NASCAR countersued the team in an antitrust lawsuit, as the saga rumbles on into the 2025 season despite both 23XI and Front Row Motorsports competing in the Cup Series championship.

The decision to let them both run as charter teams while the case runs through the courts has been appealed by NASCAR, and there will be a court hearing on the matter that will be heard on May 9.

Why are NASCAR being sued?

23XI Racing announced that they would be suing the series back in October just weeks after refusing to sign up to NASCAR's new charter agreement, with Front Row Motorsports (FRM) joining them in the endeavour.

The antitrust lawsuit was filed in the Western District of North Carolina and targeted both NASCAR and its CEO Jim France, alleging that the racing series and its leadership have used anti-competitive practices to prevent fair competition in the sport.

NASCAR argue that while all this is going on, the teams should not be able to compete as charter teams in the Cup Series, a view that the two teams have issued a response to in a new filing released on Friday, as per The Charlotte Observer.

The filing reads: "They assert that the judge did not understand antitrust law and abused his discretion. But the ‘errors’ defendants identify are not errors at all.

"The district court applied well-established precedent to the extensive fact and expert record, properly exercising its discretion to grant a narrowly tailored preliminary injunction that protects the rights of all parties and the public until trial.

"Each of the defendants’ arguments against this narrow injunction is meritless."

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