Judge agrees to 23XI, FRM’s crucial demand after delivering major ruling against NASCAR

On Tuesday, November 4, the federal judge ruled in favor of 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports. During the hearing, US District Judge Kenneth Bell declared that the case would proceed under the “premier stock-car racing" and rejected NASCAR's argument. Following that, Bell also granted the Cup Series teams' motion to depose the governing body's witnesses.

The situation arose last October, when both 23XI and FRM refused to sign the new charter agreement. The teams then filed an antitrust lawsuit against the sanctioning body and CEO Jim France, accusing them of creating a monopoly. Since then, the trio has been in and out of the court multiple times, and the recent ruling allowed the teams to build a strong case against the stock car racing association.

NASCAR journalist Bob Pockrass shared the hearing details via an X post. The judge granted 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports the right to depose Roger Penske and Rick Hendrick ahead of the trial. The decision came after the governing body asserted them as witnesses after the discovery deadline. Reflecting on the same, Pockrass wrote:

"Judge Bell has granted the motion by 23XI and Front Row to depose Rick Hendrick and Roger Penske prior to the trial as they are on the NASCAR witness list and, according to 23XI/FRM, they were designated as witnesses after the discovery deadline."

Previously, the Cup Series teams were stripped of their charter title and competed as open teams in the 2025 season. The decision affected the team drivers, including Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, and Riley Herbst of 23XI Racing. Followed by Zane Smith, Todd Gilliland, and Noah Gragson from Front Row Motorsports.

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"We are trying our hardest": NASCAR president got candid about settling the lawsuit with 23XI and FRM

Ahead of the Cup Series Championship 4 race held at Phoenix Raceway on November 2, 2025, NASCAR president Steve Phelps was featured in an interview with AP News. During the interaction, Phelps claimed that the governing body has been trying their best to settle the lawsuit against 23XI Racing and FRM.

Reflecting on that, on Friday, October 31, 2025, the NASCAR president claimed that the stock car association wants to settle the lawsuit with the Cup Series teams. He further explained (via AP News):

“We are trying our hardest. I am trying my hardest both as a fan as well as the commissioner of this sport that I’ve loved since I was 5 years old. While two out of the 15 teams may not share that view and seem set on an unfortunate court battle, I hope that we can all agree that our racing is as good as it has ever been and we care about how we serve our fans, especially as we look forward to capping off our season by celebrating new champions across all of our national series.”

Following the antitrust lawsuit, NASCAR and Steve Phelps had to share the details of the new charter agreement publicly. The charter agreement has been changed for the first time in years since it was introduced in 2016. Additionally, the lawsuit is set to go on trial on December 1, 2025.

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Edited by Karan Yadav