This past several months NASCAR’s 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports owners have spent nearly as much time with lawyers and the courts as they have at the track.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell ruled against the teams in their bid to continue racing this season as a chartered team as their legal battles against NASCAR continues. 

23XI and FRM each own three race cars.  Judge Bell noted that the race this past weekend in Dover and the upcoming race at The Brickyard (Indianapolis Motor Speedway) do not have a full field and there is no danger of the six drivers not making the race.

23XI and FRM argue that not being allowed to run as a chartered team will put them out of business.  Open drivers (those without a charter) earn only one-third as much as the chartered teams.

Judge Bell noted that stated that the teams would not lose a starting spots or sponsors while the courts rule on the preliminary junction over the next couple of weeks.  However, Judge Bell added that there is a possibility of reconsidering the decision if the ruling takes longer than two weeks.

NASCAR has sold charters to teams that ensure a starting spot in the races and increased revenue for 36 teams; but there are 40 starting spots possible for every race.  The remaining four spots are considered “open” and drivers must time their way into the race or risk having to go home.

23XI and FRM attorney Jeffrey Kessler spoke on the ruling saying, “we are disappointed that the court declined to grant 23XI and Front Row Motorsports a temporary restraining order to allow the teams to continue racing as chartered teams.  We remain confident that our motion for a preliminary injunction is legally warranted and necessary, and we look forward to the court’s full review.”

Last year NASCAR presented a new charter system that was a “take it or leave it” situation.  23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports chose to “leave it” and filed an anti-trust suit.

Kessler continued, “we made the decision to bring this lawsuit to challenge NASCAR’s monopolistic practices and bullying tactics, and we are not going to let them push our teams – or others – out of the sport that they love.  We are confident in the merits of our case and the teams remain focused on competing this weekend and continuing their playoff push.”

The suit is set to go to court on December 1 but the teams are fighting to compete as a chartered team for the remainder of the season – 15 races.

Originally 23XI owners Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin and FRM owner Bob Jenkins earned an injunction to compete as a chartered team but the ruling was overturned earlier this month which sent the case back to Judge Bell’s court.

There are reports that once they recovered the six charters from 23XI and FRM, NASCAR had plans to immediately resell them. 

Reports are that NASCAR had planned to immediately resell the charters taken from 23XI and FRM which the teams say would cause, “irreparable jeopardy of never getting their charters back and going out of business.”

NASCAR has stated that they will not sell the charters until after the court ruling on the preliminary injunction.