Opening arguments began December 1, 2025, in Charlotte, and that’s when Denny Hamlin—23XI’s frontman on the stand—delivered a stark assessment: running a Cup car for an entire season costs about $20 million just to compete, excluding overhead expenses such as driver pay and business operations. For many teams, especially those stuck outside guaranteed charters, that math doesn’t add up anymore.

The driver mentioned that they wanted monetary damages (over $200 million) and that the ask was fair. But as per journalist Kelly Crandall on X: “NASCAR argues that it would give them a 900% return on investment.”

In the courtroom’s early hours, external counsel for NASCAR, Lawrence Buterman, scrutinized the financial claims set forth by 23XI and Front Row. Buterman characterized the demands as a “900% return on investment”. When questioned directly about whether that 900% ROI was “fair,” Denny Hamlin was put on the spot. “I will leave it to the expert to answer,” Hamlin responded.

Under cross-examination, Buterman pressed him hard: could the public trust what Hamlin was saying, given that the driver admitted in past statements to sometimes using “NASCAR talking points”? Hamlin pushed back firmly.

In the same hearing, Hamlin revealed another detail many fans may not have considered: his salary from his previous longtime team was around $14 million annually. That admission fed into a broader narrative; this isn’t just a dispute about charters or payouts, but about who truly bears the financial burden in Cup racing.

For NASCAR and its defense team, this is the moment to shrink the lawsuit’s headline numbers and shift the focus back to what they say is fair market business. Their argument hinges on the idea that guaranteed chartered payouts and the charter system itself protect teams’ value and ensure stability, not monopoly abuse.

But with 23XI and Front Row arguing that many teams still can’t profit under current terms, the court asked to reconsider whether the system actually works for everyone.

Beyond the money, the emotional weight of the case has become impossible to ignore. That testimony has helped reinforce the teams’ broader claim: changes are not just needed, they are long overdue.

If 23XI and Front Row succeed in proving that NASCAR’s structure is anti-competitive, the consequences could be seismic: from changes to the charter system to restructuring revenue sharing, or even hitting the sanctioning body with massive damages. Individual teams’ bottom lines, long-term viability, and the balance of power in the Cup could shift dramatically.

Right now, though, NASCAR’s legal team is working to undercut the lawsuit’s emotional and financial power, arguing that chartered status already delivers value, and that the $200 million demand is exaggerated and speculative. The “900% fantasy” line is their strongest weapon, a phrase calculated to force the jury to question just how real the losses are.

As the trial continues, all eyes are on the courtroom and beyond it, on what becomes of the sport. Because if the verdict goes in favor of 23XI and Front Row, the ripple effects could reshape NASCAR’s financial and competitive structure.

Denny Hamlin was frustrated in court

For months now, 23XI Racing, co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, and Front Row Motorsports have accused NASCAR of running a system stacked against smaller or mid-tier teams, one that treats chartered teams like guaranteed franchises and “open” or non-chartered teams like expendable math problems.

The two clubs refused to sign NASCAR’s 2025 charter agreement and, in October 2024, filed an antitrust lawsuit in federal court alleging that NASCAR’s rules and structure amount to a monopoly, hurting competition and profitability.

And 23XI’s profitability was another discussion in court.

In a direct examination by the plaintiffs’ attorney Jeanifer Parsigian, it was revealed that the racing team, which was founded in 2021, witnessed a profit of $2 million in 2022, and that number climbed to $3.5 million a year later. But as per Hamlin, those numbers were misleading.

He noted that profit margins were around 2.26% of revenue. Hamlin also added that his team’s survival depended on outside sponsorship rather than revenue sharing from NASCAR.

“Our costs were not covered,” he stated. “I have spent 20 years in this sport trying to make it better and make it grow. All I know is that we were right, and they were wrong, and they needed to be held accountable.”

The whole trial has been slated for 21 days. But whatever the outcome may be, fans will need to brace themselves for appeals.