It was a brutal weekend at Pocono Raceway for 23XI Racing, and recent developments off the track have only compounded their misery. With brake failures, wrecked cars, and a race to forget, Riley Herbst slammed the wall, Bubba Wallace’s brake rotor exploded, and Tyler Reddick barely limped to the finish. But as bad as things looked on track, the team’s bigger headache may be happening off of it. The courtroom could end up being 23XI’s toughest challenge this season, involving contracts, counterclaims, and legal firepower. As you guessed, the NASCAR Lawsuit drama is back. But just to give you a brief summary of the developments so far, before we proceed…

In September 2024, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports refused to sign NASCAR’s new charter deal, and went on to file an antitrust lawsuit against the stock car racing organization. The lawsuit alleged how “NASCAR and the France family operate without transparency, have stifled competition, and control the sport of stock car racing in ways that unfairly benefit them at the expense of team owners, drivers, sponsors, partners, and fans.” Now, while a December 1st, 2025, trial is set for the case, NASCAR also made a counterclaim.

As per reports, the counterclaim (filed in March 2025) mentioned “23XI, Front Row, and their co-conspirators are horizontal competitors and separate economic actors who agreed to join together to collectively negotiate with NASCAR”, while naming Michael Jordan’s business partner Curtis Polk  for “actively orchestrated and participated in this illegal conspiracy, while working as a member of the TNC on behalf of the (Race Team Alliance) and aiding 23XI’s and Front Row’s participation in the scheme”. 

Then, in April, 23XI Racing and FRM hit back with a 20-page filing, asking a judge to dismiss the sanctioning body’s counterclaim by “calling them an attempt by NASCAR to distract and shift attention away from its own unlawful, monopolistic actions” as per ESPN. However, a new twist has just taken the community by storm. As per Bob Pockrass on June 22 on X, “Judge Bell has denied 23XI/Front Row motion to dismiss NASCAR’s counterclaim against them: “The challenges to the Counterclaim are best addressed at Summary Judgment, with a more developed factual record.” … NASCAR alleges teams illegally colluded for better charter terms.”

Additionally, when a fan tried to clarify by responding, “Nothing really changes with this ruling right? They still go to trial in December regardless…”, Pockrass informed, “at this time, yes, and this claim against the teams also would part of any trial unless there is a ruling on summary judgment.”

Furthermore, as per the FOX Sports journalist in a separate tweet, the two teams’ lawyer, Jeffery Kessler, also released a statement that read, “Judge Bell’s decision today is encouraging even though we are disappointed that he did not dismiss NASCAR’s meritless, retaliatory counterclaim. The judge’s recognition of many of our arguments, including the efficiency and necessity of joint negotiations and lack of credible evidence, reinforces our confidence that we will prevail in summary judgment. This counterclaim is a tactic by NASCAR to divide and distract. We remain confident in our case and motivated by our original intent — to ensure a competitive and fair sport for all drivers, fans, teams, and partners.”

The legal chess match in the NASCAR lawsuit continues. Keep our eye on our coverage for more updates.