Why lawsuit claims NASCAR leadership are “monopolistic bullies”

“The France family and NASCAR are monopolistic bullies. And bullies will continue to impose their will to hurt others until their targets stand up and refuse to be victims. That moment has arrived.”

That punchy language appears in the 24th paragraph of this antitrust lawsuit that has — for the moment — completely overshadowed the 2024 playoffs. It was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina on Wednesday morning. 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, the only two teams who refused to sign the new Charter Agreement, are suing NASCAR and CEO Jim France, focusing on the sanctioning body’s monopolization of the sport. The France family has run NASCAR since its founding in 1948 and has never ceded control of it.

The two teams have brought in attorney Jeffrey L. Kessler, a prominent sports lawyer who has won several antitrust lawsuits, notably in ‘McNeil v. The NFL’ where he helped to establish unrestricted free agency in the sport. His credentials precede him and show just how serious these teams are as they take NASCAR to court. Danielle T. Williams, Jeanifer Parsigian, Michael Toomey, and Matthew DalSanto were also listed as counsel. Winston & Strawn LLP is the law firm representing the race teams.

How did we get here?

The NASCAR charter system was introduced in 2016 and was later extended another four years in 2020. Now, with the prospect of a new deal looming, there was extensive back-and-forth between the teams and the sport’s leadership. On September 6, those negotiations came to an abrupt end when NASCAR sent what the lawsuit describes as a “take-it-or-leave-it” version of the 2025 agreement, giving teams until midnight to sign it or risk losing their charters. 13 of the 15 teams agreed but as we all know by now, two did not.

After 23XI Racing Tyler Reddick won the regular season title at Darlington, NASCAR executives were not there to present the trophy. “You know, certainly, pretty disappointed to not see anyone from NASCAR present Tyler his trophy,” said 23XI co-owner Denny Hamlin then. “That was a little disappointing.” They did acknowledge Reddick’s accomplishment the following weekend at the Atlanta driver’s meeting.