Big news for Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin’s 23XI Racing team! The courts just handed them a win in the ongoing lawsuit against NASCAR. In a recent ruling, the court granted the teams a much-needed ‘preliminary injunction.’ What does this mean? Well, 23XI and their co-plaintiffs get to race as charter teams in the upcoming season while continuing to fight their antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR.

This is a huge deal because staying a chartered team guarantees a spot in every race, including the Daytona 500—where the prize money is massive. While this ruling is just a small victory in a much bigger battle over NASCAR’s so-called “monopolistic practices,” it’s still a win. The court didn’t rule on the “monopoly” accusations yet, but it did make some key observations that probably strengthened the teams’ case.

NASCAR owns “100% market share”

It all started back on October 3rd when 23XI and another team, Front Row Motorsports (FRM), filed a lawsuit against NASCAR. They accused the racing organization of anti-competitive, monopolistic behavior. Among their grievances? NASCAR’s rules that prevent teams from competing in other stock car races and force them to buy parts exclusively from NASCAR-approved vendors. During this process, the teams also asked for a preliminary injunction, which has now been granted.

Getting this injunction was critical, not just for the charter status but for the lawsuit itself. Why? Well, the charter agreement includes a clause that prevents teams from suing NASCAR. So, if the injunction hadn’t been approved, the teams would’ve been locked out of the lawsuit. But after proving that not getting the injunction would cause “irreparable harm,” like losing star drivers, like Tyler Reddick or Noah Gragson, or big sponsors, like Monster Energy (23XI) and Love’s Travel Stops (FRM), the court sided with the teams.

With the injunction in place, the two teams can race as charter teams next season, meaning they’re locked into every race. Now, all eyes are on the main lawsuit—whether NASCAR’s practices are anti-competitive. But for now, the court held off on deciding that. U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth Bell was clear: “The Court emphasizes that it does not reach and expresses no opinion as to Plaintiffs’ likelihood of success on their other Sherman Act claims”, including but not limited to, their allegations of anticompetitive restrictions and conduct,” —which includes the monopoly allegations.

However, according to Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal, Bell later added: “The Court finds that NASCAR possesses monopoly/monopsony power in the relevant market which is the market for premier stock car racing teams in the United States.” He went on to add how NASCAR owns the entire market share when it comes to premier stock car racing.

“NASCAR’s Cup Series is the only premier stock car racing series in the United States, and premier stock car racing is a distinct form of automobile racing with unique cars and highly specialized racing teams for which other types of motorsports like Formula 1 and IndyCar are not substitutes. Therefore, NASCAR fully controls which race teams can compete at the highest level of stock car racing – effectively, it has a 100% market share,” he added.

This is a big deal for 23XI and FRM since their entire argument is built around NASCAR’s monopoly power. And good news for Tony Stewart’s now-defunct SHR team too—charter deals for them were finally approved.

23XI and FRM expand to three-car teams

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With the case going on, the two teams also planned to expand to three-car teams by buying charters from the now-defunct SHR. But here’s the catch: NASCAR had to approve those charter transfers before they can happen. SHR president Joe Custer had previously said that NASCAR promised on more than one occasion to approve the charters “once the buyers submitted their Transfer Approval Forms and signed their respective Joinder Agreements.”

But NASCAR held those charters hostage, using them as leverage to get 23XI and FRM to drop the lawsuit and take back their accusations of antitrust violations. According to Custer, the downsized Haas Factory Team did not have the resources to run more than one team. But after the recent ruling, there is relief for Stewart’s team.

The court has now forbidden NASCAR from refusing to approve the purchases of Stewart-Haas Racing charters by both race teams, which had agreements in place to purchase one each. So now, in the next season, the 23XI Racing would have Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, and Riley Herbst in the lineup and FRM would have Todd Gilliland, Noah Gragson, and most likely Zane Smith piloting the third car. However, if the teams lose the lawsuit, then the charter purchase can potentially be overturned by NASCAR. Things are definitely going to get interesting as both teams grow!

Reflecting on the preliminary injunction being approved, the plaintiffs’ attorney Jeffrey Kessler said, “We welcome today’s decision by Judge Bell granting a preliminary injunction in our favor. The court’s ruling allows 23XI and Front Row Motorsports to race existing cars as chartered teams in next year’s Cup Series. The decision also requires NASCAR to approve both teams’ purchases of a third charter from Stewart-Haas Racing and allow these cars to also race as chartered teams in the 2025 season.” 

Of course, NASCAR could appeal the court’s decision about the charters, but we’ll have to wait and see. What do you think about this ruling? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!