Michael Jordan‘s reputation as one of the toughest competitors in sports now extends far beyond the basketball court as the six-time NBA champion and co-owner of 23XI Racing is embroiled in a high-stakes legal confrontation with NASCAR.
This legal issue is one that strikes at the core of how the motorsport is governed as the question is raised whether the France family, NASCAR’s longtime owners, have unfairly monopolized stock car racing in the United States.
This legal standoff, launched last October by 23XI Racing in partnership with Front Row Motorsports (FRM), alleges that NASCAR has long engaged in practices designed to suppress competition; and Jordan’s push against the organization comes with his characteristic edge.
“Everyone knows that I have always been a fierce competitor,” Jordan said in 2024. “And that will to win is what drives me and the entire 23XI team each and every week out on the track.
“I love the sport of racing and the passion of our fans, but the way NASCAR is run today is unfair to teams, drivers, sponsors, and fans. Today’s action shows I’m willing to fight for a competitive market where everyone wins.”
The lawsuit targets NASCAR’s control of key tracks, its exclusivity agreements, its acquisition of rival ARCA, and its restrictions preventing teams from competing elsewhere, whilst another focal point is the costly “charter system”.
This mechanism grants teams guaranteed race entries but at prices now estimated around $30 million per charter, with just 23XI and FRM as the only outfits refusing to sign onto the next agreement running from 2025 to 2031.
When will Michael Jordan go to trial against NASCAR?
The process reached a critical moment this week when a North Carolina judge rejected NASCAR’s attempt to sanction the two teams after the body had accused 23XI, FRM, and their attorneys of submitting “manufactured evidence” and making false statements in December 2024 declarations.
The organization’s filing cited communications involving the 23XI president Steve Lauletta, the drivers Bubba Wallace and Corey Heim, the FRM owner Bob Jenkins, and others as NASCAR further alleged that one of the plaintiffs’ lawyers fabricated emails used to secure a preliminary injunction, an injunction later overturned on appeal.
The court, however, declined to impose sanctions, dealing NASCAR a setback in its effort to discredit the plaintiffs’ case ahead of a trial, which is due to begin on December 1, 2025.
Jeffrey Kessler, attorney for 23XI and FRM, dismissed NASCAR’s claims outright. He argued that the sanction request was
“[The sanction request is] another baseless distraction,” said Jeffrey Kessler. “Intended to try to divert the Court’s attention from the overwhelming evidence that demonstrates that Jim France and NASCAR have been operating an unlawful monopoly that has hurt not just my clients, but all of stock car racing.”
Meanwhile, Jordan’s 23XI team remains active on the track, fielding Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, Riley Herbst, and Burt Myers in the 2025 Cup Series season, whilst FRM continues with Zane Smith, Todd Gilliland, and Noah Gragson.
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