23XI Racing and FRM took NASCAR to court over certain restrictive conditions in the charter agreement. They expected to win the case inside the courtroom. To their dismay, the court ruled against them which gave a setback to the pair of the teams. However, their entourage has not ended just yet as Michael Jordan‘s lawyers elaborated on how some things went their way in the courtroom.
After witnessing the stark revelation, team owners like Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin were presumably left taken back. The court ruled that the preliminary injunction could not be taken up further as the injunction may be too premature. Citing these reasons the court sided by NASCAR, which was deemed by experts for a win of NASCAR over these teams.
On the contrary, it appeared all gloom and doom on 23XI and FRM’s side. Despite this, their lawyer Jeffrey Kessler released a statement and explained how they had a mini victory as the court ordered for a fast tracking of their case.
We are pleased with the court’s decision to expedite discovery and fast track the schedule in our case against NASCAR. Although we are disappointed that the preliminary injunction was denied without prejudice and as premature which we intend to appeal, this denial has no bearing on the merits of our case. My clients will move forward to race in 2025 and continue to fight for a more fair and equitable system in NASCAR that complies with antitrust law.
Jeffrey Kessler said as per the statement released by the team
Statement from 23XI and Front Row Motorsports ownership. pic.twitter.com/1sIr931P4V
— 23XI Racing (@23XIRacing) November 8, 2024
Thus, the whole ordeal is anticipated to go for a whole longer than it appears on the outside. However, 23XI Racing and FRM would remain on the Blackfoot heading into further round of discussions regarding the lawsuit.
NASCAR President retained a closed door demeanour over the whole saga
While the plaintiffs have been quite vocal about the ongoing saga between them and NASCAR, same cannot be said for NASCAR itself. Though they released some initial statements when the anti-trust lawsuit was initially filled, this trend did not continue on for subsequent weeks.
Similarly, NASCAR President Steve Phelps has avoided commenting on the matter and glanced over it during press conferences when asked about it.
We are not going to negotiate in the media about charters ever, and we are very happy that 32 of 36 charters were extended.
Steve Phelps said in an interview as quoted by Sports Business Journal
This explains the difference between the two parties in how they have dealt with the lawsuit. But 23XI Racing and FRM would have to concede their stance as of now and most probably agree to NASCAR’s charter agreement to continue racing into next season without any woes.
On the other hand, this may pile up some pressure on Tyler Reddick, who is a Cup Series championship contender. However, he has claimed that he is blocking out noise regarding such stuff as he prepares up for the race in Phoenix.
