NASCAR Claims Lawsuit Was 'Curtis Polk and 23XI's Plan From The Start'

Eric Canha-Imagn Images

In the first day of the NASCAR v. 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports antitrust lawsuit in Charlotte, North Carolina, NASCAR continued to hold firm in the stance they’ve had since the complaint was first filed last October.

John E. Stephenson, Jr. made that clear very quickly when delivering NASCAR’s opening statements on Monday, asking the jury a simple question: “Why are we here?”

RELATED: Live Updates From Lawsuit Between NASCAR, FRM and Michael Jordan's 23XI

The first of 10 scheduled days of this trial included jury selection (where six jurors and three alternates were selected out of a pool of potential candidates), opening statements were heard from both sides, and the first part of testimony from Denny Hamlin, one of three co-owners of 23XI Racing.

After all of that came to a natural stopping point, around 5:00pm local time, Judge Bell dismissed both parties and all the interested onlookers, and both went their separate ways without making any comments, whatsoever. About 90 minutes later, though, NASCAR broke its silence and made its stance known following an eight-hour day in court.

In an email correspondence sent to members of the media, NASCAR said: “As you know, the antitrust trial initiated by the only two race teams who elected not to sign the 2025 Charter Agreement that is threatening to change the future of NASCAR, began today in federal court in Charlotte, North Carolina.”

“NASCAR has worked tirelessly for nearly eight decades to give fans a thrilling and unforgettable experience, while also ensuring that teams have a contracted revenue stream, guaranteed weekly racing entries that deliver sponsorship dollars, and long-term equity value. That’s what we are in court to protect for the sport, the team and fans.”

In this message, NASCAR also made clear its three largest takeaways from the first day in court.

At the end of the first day of this antitrust lawsuit, #NASCAR has sent out a message with its three biggest takeaways from the day: pic.twitter.com/I4AcIIePv8

— Joseph Srigley (@joe_srigley) December 1, 2025

NASCAR claims that the teams asked the sanctioning body for the charter system and helped to negotiate the deal and all its terms, including a commitment to be all-in to grow the NASCAR Cup Series. The sanctioning body says that at every turn, they’ve kept their word and paid every single dime promised to teams over the last nine years.

In this latest round of negotiations for the 2025 Charter Agreement, NASCAR says that none of this anticompetitive conduct was brought up in two-plus years of negotiations, which “consisted of 70 meetings, correspondence and drafts of the 2025 Charter Agreement.”

Letters sent by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports explaining why they wouldn’t be signing the Charter Agreement last September allegedly did not include any mention of these anticompetitive practices, either, NASCAR says.

“If the system is unfair, anticompetitive and below market, why did 23XI Racing buy a charter not once, not twice, but three times? And why did Front Row Motorsports but, sell and lease its own charters multiple times? And why did they want them forever? Remember, teams received charters for free and they’re worth over $45 million.”

However, one of the last talking points or observations from NASCAR’s side on Monday is a bit jarring. Seemingly answering the question posed in their opening statement, the sanctioning body believes that they are here, in this antitrust lawsuit because this was the plan of Curtis Polk and 23XI Racing all along… and that’s the reason why this has all played out to this point.

“It’s important to talk about the truth in this trial, so let’s do that – this lawsuit was Curtis Polk and 23XI Racing’s plan from the start. That’s why we are here today.”