23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports filed their response Tuesday to NASCAR‘s notice from last Friday, in which the sanctioning body asked district judge Kenneth Bell to throw out the preliminary injunction request from the teams. NASCAR and its CEO, Jim France, made a few “voluntary commitments” in order to prevent the injunction from being granted.
NASCAR said they won’t sell the six charters previously associated with the teams. They also will not change rules to prevent the teams from missing races in the 2025 season as open teams. Jeff Gluck of The Athletic obtained a copy of the teams’ filing and reported his findings.
“The teams say NASCAR’s offer doesn’t make their motion moot and laid out some conditions they wanted NASCAR to meet so the judge would have to rule,” Gluck wrote on X. “NASCAR declined this offer and said the teams’ request went way too far.”
According to Gluck, the teams offered several things to make the preliminary injunction request — which if granted, would restore their charter status for the remainder of the 2025 season — go away. Among them, NASCAR will agree the teams own the two disputed Stewart-Haas Racing charters and won’t seek to unwind the sale of those and sell them to someone else until the case is resolved. Furthermore, NASCAR won’t sell/transfer more than four charters for 2026, “which in theory would allow the teams to get their six back if they won,” per Gluck.
NASCAR vs. 23XI, FRM: NASCAR makes ‘voluntary commitments’
The following are the “voluntary commitments” NASCAR made:
– As NASCAR stated in the above-referenced hearing and confirms in this Notice, it will not change Rule 7.9.1.1.C, which provides that up to six Open Teams will be eligible for starting grid positions based on the highest-ranked Team Owner Points standings, for the remainder of the 2025 Cup Series Season.
– NASCAR represents that it will not issue, sell, convey, or lease any additional Charters for the 2025 Cup Series season.
– NASCAR represents that, without Court approval, it will not effectuate a sale, conveyance, or lease of either of two (2) inactive Charters, which were previously held by Stewart-Haas Racing.
– NASCAR represents that it will not issue, sell, convey, or lease more than four (4) additional Charters for the 2026 Cup Series season.
NASCAR opposes 23XI, FRM request
23XI and FRM said that NASCAR “refused to make any changes to their commitments and representations, which left Plaintiffs with no choice other than to maintain their Motion for Preliminary Injunction to seek to preserve the status quo through the trial.” NASCAR stated its reason for why they oppose 23XI and FRM’s request. Gluck summarized those points on X.
“It goes “far beyond” what the teams requested before in the preliminary injunction filing and also far beyond preserving the status quo,” Gluck wrote. “NASCAR says the teams are trying to be treated as if the charters belong to them, even though Judge Bell already said they don’t. NASCAR also says the teams are trying to alter the contractual rights of the other charter teams.
“Finally, NASCAR says 23XI/FRM’s filing is based on a “false premise” that there are any car number/historical/championship points associated with those charters, since the teams did not sign them a year ago.”
Judge Bell said in a hearing this past Thursday that a decision will come this week. Both teams are currently racing as non-chartered organizations (open teams), and it’s been that way since July.
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