Garrett Emmons
Michael Jordan and his racing team have achieved two big victories in their ongoing lawsuit against NASCAR . Jordan’s team, 23XI, along with Front Row Motorsports, filed the suit in October of last year in a North Carolina federal court. In short, they alleged that NASCAR had established and maintained its monopoly on stock car racing through anticompetitive and exclusionary practices, such as buying up racetracks, prohibiting teams from competing in non-NASCAR racing series, and forcing teams to only buy parts from approved suppliers–in violation of U.S. antitrust law.[1]
First, 23XI and Front Row’s request for a preliminary injunction was granted on December 18.[2] The teams sought an injunction that would allow them to race in the 2025 NASCAR season as chartered teams while their lawsuit progresses. The teams required this injunction because the charter agreements they refused to sign included a release prohibiting teams from suing NASCAR for antitrust claims. In other words, they would have to choose between signing the charter agreements or pursuing their case against NASCAR. Now, they can do both.
In order to obtain this preliminary injunction, the teams needed to show 1) a likelihood of success on the merits of the case, 2) irreparable harm if the preliminary injunction was not issued, and 3) that a preliminary injunction is in the public interest. On the first point, the court concluded that “NASCAR has monopoly power in the market for premier stock car racing” and that the charter agreement’s provision barring the teams from bringing antitrust claims against NASCAR “would be a violation of the antitrust laws.”[3] On the second point, the court agreed with the teams that they would likely suffer irreparable harm due to the “loss of contractual control over their best drivers and the resulting inability to field their best race team” if they did not have guaranteed entries into all 2025 NASCAR races–guarantees the charter agreements provide.[4] On the third point, the court believed that a preliminary injunction would be in the public interest “to give fans of stock car racing the opportunity to watch (and root for and against) the full slate of teams” while allowing the teams’ antitrust claims to be evaluated.[5] NASCAR is now appealing the injunction.
Second, 23XI and Front Row survived NASCAR’s motion to dismiss the case. A motion to dismiss is one of a defendant’s main moves for fending off a lawsuit before it really gets going. It argues that even if a plaintiff’s factual allegations are true, they are legally insufficient, and the case should be dismissed. In their December 2 filing, NASCAR argued, among other things, that the teams’ case should be dismissed because most of their claims are outside the four-year statute of limitations, such as NASCAR’s purchase of racetracks in 2018 and 2019.[6] Their remaining claims related to the 2025 Charter Agreement, according to NASCAR, were insufficient since the teams did not sign the agreement and therefore lacked standing.[7] The general thrust of NASCAR’s argument was the teams are upset over contractual disputes, not genuine antitrust injury.
In the teams’ response, they called NASCAR’s motion to dismiss “a fantasy.”[8] The court, though with less colorful language, denied the motion to dismiss on January 10. It concluded that the teams’ antitrust allegations were sufficient and plausible enough to survive.[9] It stated that NASCAR’s and the teams’ conflicting stories must be sorted out at trial, where a jury can “weigh the evidence and assess the credibility of the witnesses.”[10] The trial is set for December 1 of this year.
Michael Jordan’s case against NASCAR is off to a good start. His team is able to compete in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series as a chartered team and his lawsuit has survived its first major hurdle. He is now in a much stronger position than when his lawsuit began last October. Crucially, NASCAR and its owners, the France family, will have to open up their long-secret financial records as part of discovery for the trial.[11] Facing this, France and NASCAR may feel more inclined to settle with Jordan and his co-plaintiffs. There are still several months before the trial is set to take place, and NASCAR is likely to do everything in their power to end the litigation before it gets to that point. For now though, Jordan can be content that his lawsuit is on its way to the checkered flag.
[1] Garrett Emmons, Competing On and Off the Race Track: Michael Jordan Sues NASCAR, JLA Beat, https://journals.library.columbia.edu/index.php/lawandarts/announcement/view/737 (Nov. 15, 2024).
[2] 23XI and Front Row’s first request for a preliminary injunction was denied on November 8, but the court left the door open for the team to file a new request. Their renewed motion for a preliminary injunction, discussed in this article, was granted.
[3] Order re motion for a preliminary injunction at 2, 2311 Racing LLC et al v. National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC et al, Docket No. 3:24-cv-00886 (W.D.N.C Oct. 2, 2024)
[4] Id. These drivers include Tyler Reddick, who would have become a free agent under his contract if he was not guaranteed a chartered car, but instead went on to finish second at the Daytona 500 for 23XI.
[5] Id.
[6] Motion to Dismiss at 1, 2311 Racing LLC et al v. National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC et al, Docket No. 3:24-cv-00886 (W.D.N.C Oct. 2, 2024).
[7] Id. at 2.
[8] Plaintiff’s Memorandum of Law in Opposition to Defendant NASCAR’s Motion to Dismiss at 1, 2311 Racing LLC et al v. National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC et al, Docket No. 3:24-cv-00886 (W.D.N.C Oct. 2, 2024).
[9] Order re Motion to Dismiss at 3, 2311 Racing LLC et al v. National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC et al, Docket No. 3:24-cv-00886 (W.D.N.C Oct. 2, 2024).
[10] Id.
[11] Emmons, supra note 1.
Would it make sense to directly reference my previous article here if people want to read it for context? I do include it in the footnotes already.