NASCAR and its charter system have been making waves in the motorsports community, but not for the right reasons. Not only did 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports reject the terms around the charters, but also filed an anti-trust lawsuit against NASCAR. In response to that, NASCAR put out a statement in the court document that read, “Plaintiffs have filed a meritless suit against NASCAR alleging baseless antitrust claims in order to obtain commercial agreements they previously rejected, and to attempt to extort more favorable contract terms.”

“Plaintiffs’ overreaching requests belie their true aim: to use the antitrust discovery process as a weapon,” NASCAR’s filing claimed. With the lawsuit in motion, NASCAR also revealed that it plans to reduce the number of charters it runs in 2025 from 36 cars on the grid to 32. Could this be a part of NASCAR’s plans to say goodbye to 23XI Racing? Only time will reveal the true motives behind these motives. But when former NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace heard the news, he shared his opinion.

Kenny Wallace is not a big fan of the idea of what has been happening. He brought this up in his latest YouTube video, saying, “It says, and is reported by Bob Pockrass, that NASCAR is going to reduce to 32 charters. What’s that all about? Is this a position? Are they moving? Look, you’re in the sun; you’re out of the sun. You’re in the sun; you’re out of the sun. Is that what NASCAR is doing? Right now there are 36 charters, and if they go for 32, what does that do for NASCAR? And, buy the way, listen to this, you know those four charters that Stewart-Haas Racing has? They are still theirs…”

“So if you remember, Front Row Motorsports and 23XI bought two of those [charters]. Stewart-Haas- they sold one to Front Row and then another one to 23XI. Have they been paid? Now listen, this is my opinion. I’m going to tell you what my opinion is.”

It’s clear that Kenny Wallace is not happy with the number of abrupt changes that NASCAR is trying to implement after being sued by the two teams. As of now, there are speculations that NASCAR is reducing the charters so that they can get rid of the teams that didn’t sign the agreement on time. However, if 23XI Racing and FRM win the lawsuit, they will have no choice but to run all the cars on the grid, as none of the teams would like to drop a car out.

“I really believe that NASCAR is reducing the charter in the starting field to make it more difficult. There, I said it. Remember, say what you mean and mean what you say. Why else would they reduce the starting field? Maybe the starting field’s going to be the same, but they’re just going to only have 32 charters,” Wallace explained the possibility of NASCAR entertaining non-charter cars to participate.

Here’s the thing: Both teams have filed a motion for a preliminary injunction so that they can keep their charters for the 2025 season. If not granted, the teams will have to compete as open teams and lose out on significant revenue. They would not be able to lock into every race and that includes the Daytona 500. As per the court filing, that race alone accounted for 15% of the total season purse!

Updates on the NASCAR anti-trust lawsuit

The antitrust lawsuit between 23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports, and NASCAR is heating up, with new details coming out in recent filings. Things escalated when NASCAR pushed back against the teams’ request for expedited discovery, which would let them peek into NASCAR’s financial records before a judge rules on their motion for a preliminary injunction. The goal for the teams is to keep racing as chartered entries while the lawsuit is sorted out.

NASCAR’s biggest issue with the request is how much the teams are asking for. 23XI and Front Row want nearly nine years’ worth of documents from top NASCAR executives and contracts with speedways—and they want it all within five business days!

NASCAR thinks that’s over the top and not necessary for the current stage of the lawsuit. On top of that, NASCAR reminded everyone that it had extended the deadline for both teams to sign the 2025 Charter Agreement, but neither team did.

The lawsuit had its hearing set to be on October 16, 2024; however, due to Hurricane Milton, the preliminary injunction hearing has been postponed to November 4, 2024. Now all that we can do is wait to see what will happen as NASCAR and the two teams go head-to-head in one of the most controversial legal battles the sport has seen.

Considering all of this, which side do you think will win the lawsuit? Is it 23XI Racing and FRM? or will NASCAR pull some strings and dismiss the case altogether? Share your thoughts in the comments below.