NASCAR filed a lawsuit against Michael Jordan’s race team Wednesday, claiming it’s part of “an illegal cartel,” as the legal battle between the two sides intensifies.
The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi reported that the sanctioning body has sued Jordan’s team, 23XI Racing and another team, Front Row Motorsports, along with 23XI co-owner Curtis Polk, a longtime Jordan advisor. The filing is in response to a lawsuit the two teams filed in October against NASCAR, alleging antitrust violations. The dispute involves the sport’s charter system, NASCAR’s equivalent of franchises, guaranteeing teams entry into every race along with TV revenue sharing.
According to The Athletic, NASCAR’s lawsuit claims that Polk and the two teams, “agreed to a scheme to pressure NASCAR to accept their collusive terms, including by engaging in media campaigns, interfering with NASCAR’s broadcast agreement negotiations, threatening boycotts of NASCAR events and engaging in a group boycott of a NASCAR Team Owner Council Meeting.”
While the suit labeled 23XI and Front Row “an illegal cartel,” it singled out Polk for “representing all teams in negotiations, coordinating their conduct, and threatening teams that considered leaving the conspiracy and interfering and negatively affecting NASCAR’s attempts to renew its media rights agreements.”
As noted, the legal battle stems from ongoing negotiations over more than two years between NASCAR and 15 Cup Series race teams involving the sports’ charter system. NASCAR wanted to extend the charter agreements through 2031. Teams had requested permanent charters. In the end, 13 teams signed the new charter agreement, while 23XI and Front Row held out. That led to the lawsuit.
Although neither team signed the new agreement, a federal judge ruled last year that both teams could race as charter teams in 2025 while their legal action progressed. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals is expected to hear NASCAR’s appeal of that decision in May.
NASCAR attorney Chris Yates told The Athletic that the sanctioning body does not want a settlement.
“The deal is the deal,” Yates said. “Front Row and 23XI may think that by suing NASCAR, they can achieve better terms. But that is not NASCAR’s intent at all.”
It’s an awkward situation for NASCAR, taking legal action against a team owned by one of the most legendary figures in U.S. sports history. One of Jordan’s 23XI drivers, Tyler Reddick, made the Championship 4 race last season. Gluck told the Awful Announcing Podcast last year that the lawsuit would create an uneasy situation between Jordan and NASCAR at that race. There’s no question NASCAR could benefit from embracing Jordan’s involvement.
“It’s a very weird dynamic,” Gluck said. “And it’s a shame because it feels like under normal circumstances NASCAR could be just hammering this. Like, ‘Dude, MJ is here!’ He’s around so often that when he walks by you at the track, it’s become commonplace for the people in the garage…it seems like a huge, missed opportunity and maybe once this gets resolved, they can capitalize on it more.”
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.