A federal judge in North Carolina on Tuesday dismissed NASCAR’s counterclaim accusing Front Row Motorsports, 23XI Racing and Curtis Polk—who co-owns 23XI with Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin—of engineering an “illegal cartel.”
The alleged cartel is described as forcing NASCAR to engage in joint, rather than individual, negotiations with the 15 teams and ultimately resulting in higher payouts. NASCAR contends Polk, a longtime business partner of Jordan, used business dealings to promote threatened group boycotts of NASCAR events, potential work stoppages and other disruptions to the association’s business model.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell disagreed. He granted 23XI and Front Row’s motion for summary judgment, reasoning that evidence and testimony failed to establish the existence of a cartel.
Bell asserted that NASCAR engaged in individual negotiations with teams on a regular basis leading up to 13 of the 15 teams signing 2025 charters, with 23XI and Front Row the holdouts. “Based on these undisputed facts,” the judge wrote, 23XI, Front Row and Polk “did not engage in an unreasonable restraint of trade.”
The judge also didn’t find it legally problematic that NASCAR might have paid more in charters due to maneuvers by 23XI, Front Row and Polk. He noted that antitrust law is intended to protect competition, not competitors, and that NASCAR’s assertion that it “paid too much to the teams . . . is not an injury to competition; rather it is only a private economic loss to NASCAR.”
In addition, Bell highlighted testimony by an expert economist for NASCAR who, as Bell summarized, said “he saw no evidence that the Teams’ collective actions caused NASCAR to increase its Charter payments.”
Bell interpreted this as indicating an “absence of proof” of the kind of injury antitrust law is intended to remedy.
The judge also downplayed Polk’s influence over other teams. While Polk and others engaged in “cheerleading for joint negotiations,” Bell underscored how NASCAR retained the ability to negotiate with teams individually.
“NASCAR has produced no evidence that any of the Teams that signed the 2025 Charters (contrary to Polk’s advice and much to his and [23XI and Front Row’s] disappointment) agreed to solely pursue the joint terms and refused to meaningfully negotiate in the individual team negotiations that indisputably occurred,” Bell stressed.
In a statement, 23XI and Front Row attorney Jeffrey Kessler said the decision “has only reaffirmed my clients’ unwavering pursuit of a more fair and equitable sport.”
NASCAR may appeal Bell’s order to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which in June reversed Bell’s order granting a preliminary injunction to 23XI and Front Row. The association released a statement saying it disagreed with Bell’s legal reasoning and intends to appeal “at the appropriate time.”
The order comes as the parties prepare a jury trial set to start on Dec. 1. The trial would address 23XI and Front Row’s contention that NASCAR uses monopoly power to suppress competition in its procurement of services provided by racing teams. It is possible that parties will reach a settlement before the trial.
NASCAR’s statement said, “Our priority remains resolving this matter quickly so all parties can focus on Championship weekend and continuing to grow the sport.”
There’s still time for both sides to strike a deal and avoid trial—but the clock is ticking.
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