On Monday (May 6), as the jury was to be selected in the defamation case, NBA Hall-of-Fame legend and 23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan came in person in a North Carolina federal court. The hearing, which by experts is dubbed as the turning point for the whole stock car racing industry, deals with the main concept that it is alleged that NASCAR runs the industry as a giant with no competition controlling all the rules and thus limiting team independence.
After a year-long wait, which saw no signed charter agreements between the parties, Jordan and Front Row Motorsports decided to sue NASCAR. In their complaint, the teams charge a race organization and its head, Jim France, with the deliberate and sly stacking of the cards, leading to their dominating control of the sport. The suit claims that the governing body is hiding things from the public, being very restrictive in terms of rules, and structuring its activities in a way that helps the leadership while hurting teams, drivers, sponsors, partners, and fans.
The indictment also alleges that the organization has been buying most of the major racetracks for exclusive use of NASCAR events, has been strictly adhering to EP agreements on those tracks, has purchased a competitor sanctioning body, ARCA, has been limiting teams from participating in other stock car races, and has been forcing the teams to rely on single-source suppliers picked by NASCAR.
Out of the 15 team,s Jordan and Front Row were the only two to refuse the new charter terms. “I have always been a ruthless competitor,” Jordan said. “I love racing, but NASCAR’s system is not fair to anyone involved.”
