Away from the racetracks, NASCAR has been busy fighting a legal battle with Michael Jordan’s 23Xl over the 2025 Cup Series charter agreement. The sport’s lead attorney in the matter, Chris Yates, has since filed a countersuit against them and Front Row Motorsports (FRM), alleging the two of conspiring to corner NASCAR to force a renegotiation.
Taking a strict stance against the alleged conspiracy, Yates has since said there shall not be a renegotiation. However, they will still abide by the court’s orders.
No Renegotiation for the NASCAR Charter Says Lead Attorney
With the growing heat around the matter, settlement between all involved parties is a diminishing possibility. Detailed on X by Adam Stern, Yates has clarified that there will be no renegotiation of the 2025 charter – “that’s not going to happen.” However, NASCAR will still participate in the proceedings as instructed by the court.
.@NASCAR outside counsel Chris Yates on a possible settlement: “This is not going to be a re-negotiation of the 2025 charter — that’s not going to happen. I don’t see a great path to settlement, but obviously we will participate in the court-ordered mediation process.”
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) March 5, 2025
Led by Yates, NASCAR has filed a 31-page countersuit, requesting a trial by jury against 23Xl and FRM’s claims. He says that the two teams are misusing the antitrust laws while alleging “baseless monopolization claims” to force a renegotiation.
Furthermore, they alleged that Curtis Polk used his reach within the Team Negotiation Committee to scheme a boycott of a negotiation meeting with NASCAR. Subsequently, teams had threatened to not show up for a qualifying session of a Cup Series race.
Of the 15 teams on the grid, 23Xl and FRM were the only two teams not to sign the Charter Agreement. Per Yates, the sanctioning body caved in a lot regarding revenue sharing in the new Media Rights Agreement worth $7.7 billion. Reportedly, NASCAR has given nearly 50% of the amount to the teams listed in the charter agreement.
Owing to the same, Yates does not expect to see other teams to get involved in the matter again and are now taking the fight to 23Xl and FRM for their orchestrated boycotts and conspiracy.
