Judge directs 23XI, FRM, and NASCAR to “work cooperatively” for Rick Hendrick’s deposition

Judge Kenneth Bell has ordered 23XI, FRM and NASCAR to find a way and schedule the contentious deposition of Rick Hendrick. In addition, Judge Bell declined to strike down Hendrick's testimony as well.

23XI and FRM had asked to block Hendrick's testimony since they're not able to depose the team owner when he's available. The two teams didn't want the testimony to reach the jury without cross-examination. NASCAR, on its part, claimed that the deposition could be done in the first week of December, before the sanctioning body can present its case.

The judge has sided with NASCAR and asked the two teams to fall in line. Fox analyst Bob Pockrass went over the ruling and shared an X post, writing,

"Judge Bell ruling: He will not require 23XI/FRM to depose Rick Hendrick after the trial begins but will not exclude his testimony at this time. 23XI, FRM and NASCAR directed to work cooperatively to find a time prior to trial for a 2.5-hour deposition of Hendrick."

Rick Hendrick had previously submitted a letter of declaration backing NASCAR's 2025 charter deal. The testimony stands in contrast to the two teams' allegations of unfair trade practices.

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NASCAR blasts 23XI and FRM for waiting till the last minute for the deposition request

NASCAR recently filed a motion regarding 23XI and FRM's deposition request for Rick Hendrick and Roger Penske. The Athletic's Jeff Gluck went over the filing and revealed the team owners' request for 'guardrails' in the deposition.

“NASCAR has filed a motion supporting Hendrick and Penske's request to have "guardrails" around the topics in their testimony,” Gluck wrote in his post. “They say the teams never asked for Hendrick and Penske to be deposed during the given period and now are making a last-minute request unfairly.” "They strategically chose to sit on their hands and wait until less than four weeks before trial,” Gluck added, quoting NASCAR. “Had they moved or said anything at the time of the disclosure, there would have been ample time to take the depositions within the discovery period," he added.

Other team owners like Joe Gibbs had also filed letters of declaration, but he was exempt from the teams' request for cross-examination. Whether it had to do with Denny Hamlin's allegiance with JGR is yet to be known.

Notably, Gibbs had released a statement noting his mixed feelings on the matter. Despite supporting NASCAR, he'd also asked for permanent charters in the same letter. The sanctioning body hasn't agreed to such terms yet, as the current deal runs till the seven-year media rights agreement.

The antitrust lawsuit heads to a December 1 trial. With no settlement in sight, the two parties battle for the charter system's viability and a bigger slice of the $7.7 billion media rights deal.

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Edited by Vignesh Kanna