23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports filing a joint anti-trust lawsuit against NASCAR last week shook the racing community. Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan’s team led the demands for a fair business prospect from NASCAR in signing the new charter deal. But after failing to come to terms, the two teams had to resort to legal proceedings, and this subject matter is a huge talking point ahead of the Talladega race.

For the most part, Jeffrey Kessler has been at the forefront in explaining 23XI Racing’s stance after filing the lawsuit in a federal court in North Carolina. Denny Hamlin has been active with his witty response on social media. And it seem like his fiancee Jordan Fish is doing her bit in keeping Hamlin on his toes and up for the task.

A legal intervention against NASCAR was long due, says Hamlin

The dispute over the charter negotiations isn’t something that has come out of the blue. It’s been a long and tedious back-and-forth between NASCAR and the team owners for almost two years now. However, NASCAR decided to get the business done before the start of the playoffs, almost strong-arming the teams into signing the deal. There were reports from an unidentified team owner who stated, “They put a gun to our head, and we had to sign. It is what it is.”

Now the potential threat for the teams was losing the ownership of the charters, and this was enough for 13 of them to bend their knee. However, 23XI Racing and FRM chose to stand up against this bullying and decided to take NASCAR to court. “The France family and NASCAR are monopolistic bullies. And bullies will continue to impose their will to hurt others until their targets stand up and refuse to be victims.” This was the initial statement from the two teams that was made public.

Denny Hamlin has been involved in a war of words online on social media trying to share his prespective on the issues. Such events can take a toll on Hamlin, who has a lot on his plate. But his fiancee is making sure he remains motivated. “You know I feel like the reactions have all been positive on our end, of course. You know my Jordan, he just sent me an awesome clip from The Money Ball where I think John Henry is saying, You know, the first one through the wall always gets bloodied.” Hamlin said this in an interview ahead of the Talladega race.

The veteran JGR driver also reiterated that these steps are only in the best interest of all parties involved and NASCAR as a sport. “It’s certainly an opportunity for us to try to promote change in the sport that is positive for everyone. And that’s teams, drivers, fans, everyone. I feel like on our end it’s actually been good for me. Because this is not like we just decided one day we woke up and this is what’s gonna happen. This has been on the plate for a while,” he added.

This lawsuit just might be a blessing in disguise for Hamlin, who has been affected by the off-track drama. With the lawsuit now being handled by his legal representatives, he will now be able to focus on racing and resume his hunt for his maiden championship victory.

All hands on deck for the #11 team as the title chase resumes at Talladega

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Imagine the pressure of racing for a championship with a team like JGR and trying to reason with NASCAR on a charter deal at the same time. While it might sound business as usual for an owner-driver, these off-track events do hamper the performance on the racetrack. In Hamlin’s case, he barely made it out of the first round thanks to his prowess on Bristol. But his frustrations were out in the open after his pit crew dropped the ball last week at Kansas Speedway.

This was his reaction after a P8 finish: “I’m not in it mentally; I can tell you that. There are lots of wires crossed and bolts loose at the moment.” It was evident that he was spread thin, juggling between the conflict against NASCAR and at the same time trying his best to compete in the playoffs. Fortunately, now that things are out in the open, he believes that it will allow him to get back to his primary objective—winning races.

“Certainly from my standpoint, it allows me actually more relief to focus on the 11 car and everything I’ve got to do there because it’s out and it’s done and there’s other people able to speak upon it from the legality standpoint,” Hamlin explained further during the interview. With just a cushion of 11 points, the JGR star would want to seal the deal with a solid outing at Talladega. Surprisingly, the fall races at the drafting track have fared well for him, so don’t be surprised if he manages to get back in the victory lane.