NASCAR files motion to dismiss lawsuit by Michael Jordan's 23XI Racing

Field Level Media|published: Tue 3rd December, 21:37 2024

Jun 25, 2022; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; NASCAR Cup Series 23XI Racing owner Michael Jordan and driver Bubba Wallace (23) on pit road during qualifying for the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

NASCAR filed a motion in court on Monday asking for the dismissal of an antitrust lawsuit that accuses it of being "monopolistic bullies" that has not encouraged legitimate competition in racing.

23XI Racing, owned by Michael Jordan, and Front Row Motorsports joined together to file the suit on Oct. 2. NASCAR and chairman Jim France are the defendants in the case.

"Plaintiffs' Complaint is a misguided attempt to dress up private business frustrations in antitrust garb," NASCAR's motion states. "Plaintiffs' bring claims barred by the statute of limitations and laches; they fail to plead any reduction in competition, meaning they do not have the required antitrust injury to establish antitrust standing; and they aim to renegotiate contractual terms rather than address anticompetitive behavior. Plaintiffs' claims should be dismissed."

NASCAR gave four key reasons why the motion should be tossed.

It first noted that "most of the Plaintiffs' claims are time-barred by the statute of limitations and laches because they concern conduct that occurred more than four years ago." All claims coming from Front Row Motorsports and 23XI Racing were focused on actions that NASCAR took no later than 2020.

Secondly, NASCAR emphasized the fact that the plaintiffs were the only two teams to not sign the 2025 charter agreement, therefore preventing them from being challenged by the terms they disagree with. Per the defendants, if Front Row Motorsports and 23XI Racing really wanted to, they could race anywhere or begin their own league with no NASCAR provisions holding them down.

NASCAR also claims that Front Row Motorsports and 23XI Racing have a "legally deficient" view of the proposed market because they've been analyzing it post-investment instead of pre-investment.

Finally, NASCAR mentioned that it hasn't done anything to exclude the two plaintiffs -- the organization maintains it did not ignore Front Row Motorsports and 23XI Racing, both of which NASCAR contends haven't been able to prove that competition has been reduced by charter provisions.

Front Row Motorsports and 23XI Racing must respond to NASCAR's motion by Dec. 16.

--Field Level Media

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