Understanding the Michael Jordan/NASCAR Affair

This is a major victory for the two teams that had not signed the franchise agreement proposed by the NASCAR in early September, due to a clause contained therein. The latter prohibits any team from suing NASCAR on the grounds of a violation of antitrust laws, precisely what 23XI and Front Row did a few days later. Since then, while the trial is ongoing, the teams have filed a request for a preliminary injunction, allowing them to participate in the upcoming season as franchised teams, while continuing their legal action. On November 8, the teams were denied access to this request, which was renewed at the end of the month. 23XI and Front Row in fact explained that irreparable harm was more than likely if they were forced to compete as "Open" teams, with no guarantee of qualification and receiving much less financial resources.

A new judge was appointed and decided to grant the preliminary injunction. The preliminary injunction does not end the lawsuit between the three parties, and NASCAR still has the right to appeal. In practical terms, the preliminary injunction requires NASCAR to accept the entry as a franchised team, automatically entered in all races and receiving the same prize money as all other players in the championship. In addition, each team can now complete the purchase of a Stewart franchise-Haas Racing, which ceased operations at the end of the 2024 season.

It's a new chapter in a saga that began in mid-September, when 23XI (Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin's team, driver of Joe Gibbs Racing) and Front Row (Bob Jenkins' team) announced that they had not signed the new franchise agreement, which NASCAR had deemed mandatory in order to participate in the 2025 season. Less than a month later, the announcement of the two parties' legal action against NASCAR was made public. The NBA legend hoped for a quick resolution to the conflict, but that is far from being the case. At the end of October, the two teams met with NASCAR for a preliminary hearing, a few days after the judge refused an expedited procedure requested by 23XI and Front Row, so that NASCAR could produce documents before the first judgment.

On November 8, the preliminary injunction was denied, a victory for NASCAR, though the lawsuit continues. This meant that both teams could compete without the guarantee of franchise status, where they would have received a share of half of NASCAR's television revenue. Both teams initially indicated their intention to appeal, but ultimately dropped the decision. But in light of new evidence, they decided to appeal in early December, which resulted in the preliminary injunction being granted on December 18, 2024. Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace, the two drivers for 23XI, could have potentially left the team along with their sponsors, which qualifies as irreparable harm.

While the 2025 NASCAR season will kick off in February with the Clash at Bowman Gray, there is no doubt that a good part of the championship will also be decided in court in 2025...

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