Who would’ve thought that NASCAR would be helping out Michael Jordan and his team 23XI Racing in their ongoing legal battle? 23XI Racing, along with Front Row Motorsports, have taken NASCAR to court on anti-trust grounds after declining to sign the new charter agreement.

Now, there is a possibility that teams might not be able to retain their status as chartered teams in 2025 after being denied the preliminary injunction. But they certainly have the option to race as an open team, and NASCAR themselves have given the team the go-ahead in doing so. While 23XI and FRM could’ve raced as an open team in 2025 if the injunction plea didn’t favor them. But it turns out even that required NASCAR’s clearance.

Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing is all cleared to race as an open team in 2025

The priority for NASCAR for the time being is to keep both 23XI Racing and FRM away from being considered as the charted teams. However, the US Appeals Court will have a final say in this matter, which is why NASCAR has now made the path clear for the teams to race as open teams in 2025.

In the previous charter agreement, there was a clause that open teams had to sign, which released NASCAR from legal action. In short, they had their backs covered and didn’t want the open team taking them to the court. But with this development, NASCAR has now agreed that they won’t pull this card in the court to try and make their case.

“We are pleased to announce that NASCAR has removed the anticompetitive release requirement in its open agreement, which will now allow 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports to race as open teams in 2025. My clients will continue their appeal to the 4th Circuit to issue an injunction so that they can run as a chartered team, therefore avoid irreparable harm.” Jeffrey Kessler, the lawyer representing the two teams, said in a joint statement by the team.

If NASCAR hadn’t made this concession for Michael Jordan and his partners, their teams would have been left with two options. First to sign the open team agreement, which then risked their previous legal claims as the clause in the agreement would work in NASCAR’s favor and dismiss the lawsuit. And second, they would not race at all, a prospect that hypothetically is possible. Even 23XI Racing’s co-owner, Denny Hamlin, shared his thoughts regarding the same ahead of the Phoenix race. “I think it’s all TBD. There’s certain agreements that we’re going to have to navigate, so I hope so.”

But there’s still no clarity on whether the purchase of the two Stewart Haas Racing charters would be valid or not.

The two SHR charters are still up in the air

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Both 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports have expanded their NASCAR racing operations with the purchase of one SHR. It is indeed a massive investment given that the two teams are at loggerheads with NASCAR in a legal case. Although they have spent the big bucks on their ambitious plans to grow their teams, their purchase isn’t a done deal just yet. NASCAR is the one that gives the final go-ahead in the transfer of charter from one team to another, and the purchase isn’t approved by the sanctioning body.

Well, you would expect NASCAR to take this course of action, given that the two teams have declined to sign the charter agreement in the first place. Moreover, they’ve taken them to court, labeling them as monopolistic bullies. On the other hand, there are rumors that RFK Racing is expanding its racing operations with a partnership with Kroger. The timing of this is interesting, to say the least, but does this link up with the 23XI and FRM legal tussle? Well, we will have to wait and see.

For the time being, the priority for Michael Jordan and his team will be to get the injunction, which would reinstate their chartered team status.