Tyler Reddick raced hard but failed to deliver his maiden championship to Michael Jordan. Meanwhile, Jordan and Denny Hamlin are having a hard time in the courtroom. In the most recent NASCAR lawsuit update, a federal judge in Western North Carolina’s US District Court denied 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports’ preliminary injunction. In other words, they are not guaranteed charter spots for next year – which may be music to Brad Keselowski’s ears.

The RFK Racing co-owner has been dropping hints of expansion since early this year. Keselowski’s two-car team has clinched success over the past two years, and in May, he admitted he is “30m short.” Fulfilling that gap became a possibility when Tony Stewart’s team ran up a dead end. Now that prospect looks more promising as Michael Jordan’s pursuit is going south.

Brad Keselowski feeding off others’ misery?

Well, when the 36-time Cup Series race winner joined Jack Roush, he was on a mission. RFK Racing is a veteran team holding 8 championships, and once stars like Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, and Carl Edwards fetched wins on a weekly basis. The team faced a slump in the 2010s – but Brad Keselowski revived it in 2023. Chris Buescher has already clinched 4 wins, and Keselowski has one. So Keselowski is prepared to see his team grow wings – even if it means at the cost of other teams. 23XI Racing had booked an SHR charter, but given their courtroom disadvantage, the team will need to let that expansion plan go.

And Brad Keselowski is right there to pluck that low-hanging fruit. After the final race of the 2024 season wrapped up, Keselowski dropped his thoughts on the year. One of those pointers carried a message about his team’s future. He updated on X: “Look for several (official) big announcement from RFK in the next 2 weeks.” Rumors set afloat earlier fixed Ryan Preece, the only SHR driver without a ride, as a possible RFK driver. In his JTG Daugherty days, Preece worked with Kroger, a major NASCAR sponsor. The retail company incidentally is also interested in RFK’s expansion.

On top of his plans to grab the spoils of Michael Jordan’s possible defeat, Brad Keselowski also does not align with the latter. RFK Racing was one of the 13 teams to sign NASCAR’s charter deal, and Keselowski does not regret it. “We want to run NASCAR for a long time to come and signing the charter agreement is a statement of our commitment to doing just that,” he said. “I just want peace. What I want is for our entire industry to become laser-focused on growing the sport and to have incentives that connect to where we all win when that happens.”

Despite Brad Keselowski dropping teasers about his team’s expansion, 23XI is not giving up just yet.

The flame of resistance still burns

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After all, Michael Jordan and Co. knew very well what they were stepping into. Other teams hailed 23XI and FRM for their courage to stand up and oppose the giant. And undoing 76 years of monopolistic traditions fostered by the France family is no mean feat. It will take time, and probably both teams will incur enormous losses along the way. Under 6-time NBA champion Michael Jordan’s guidance, success is sure although a bit slow. So even though the courtroom drama is tilting away from their favor now, hope is still in the air.

The federal judge found little evidence to back the fact that the teams “will face irreparable harm through several avenues.” The ruling came out exactly when officials were giving their annual “State of the Sport” address at Phoenix Raceway, and Steve Phelps said: “You can’t make it up, for the timing” Despite this cutting remark, Jordan and Co’s attorney Jeffrey Kessler stated with optimism, “Although we are disappointed that the preliminary injunction was denied without prejudice and as premature, which we intend to appeal, this denial has no bearing on the merits of our case. My clients will move forward to race in 2025 and fight for a more fair and equitable system in NASCAR that complies with antitrust laws.”

Evidently, Brad Keselowski may still need to wait for his expansion plans. Michael Jordan and Co. are not going to give up easily, as they already knew the stakes. Who do you think will emerge