Micheal jordan’s 23XI Racing Team and Front Row Motorsports suffered a major blow this week as a federal court denied their request to keep racing with charter status, instead siding with NASCAR in the ongoing legal battle.
That means all six of their cars (three from each team) will have to run as open entries for at least the next two Cup Series races, starting at Dover and then Indianapolis. Without charters, they’ll lose the guaranteed starting spots and financial benefits that come with them.
The two teams filed for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction on July 14, hoping to block NASCAR from revoking their charters while the larger lawsuit plays out.
But on Thursday, the judge ruled there’s no “irreparable harm” happening right now. According to the court, the teams aren’t at risk of losing their drivers or sponsors in the short term and they’ll make the field in both upcoming races since the entry list won’t exceed 40 cars.
NASCAR won’t sell charters — for now
One reason the court denied the emergency order is that NASCAR agreed not to sell or reassign the charters while this legal process continues. That took some pressure off the situation, at least for now.
But even with that safeguard, 23XI and FRM are still having to race without the stability and payouts that other chartered teams will have — something that could hurt them the longer this drags on.
NASCAR wasn’t shy in its response, calling the lawsuit “baseless” and warning it could divide the sport. The dispute goes back to the teams’ refusal to sign NASCAR’s 2025 charter agreement, a contract they say gives the league too much control.
Both teams had recently expanded their operations by purchasing charters from the now-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing, but now their rights to those spots are up in the air.
The fight isn’t over. A hearing on the full injunction is still to come and the bigger antitrust trial is set for December 1. For now, 23XI and FRM will have to show up as open teams and prove themselves on speed alone. Something they can do, but not the situation they wanted heading into the heart of the season.
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