It was a quiet week in the courtroom battle between 23XI Racing/Front Row Motorsports this week. Here’s what happened.
- On Nov. 20, Judge Bell ordered that the Defendants asked the court to exclude two of 23XI’s three owners from the courtroom in accordance to FRE rule 615. (At a party’s request, the court must order witnesses excluded from the courtroom so that they cannot hear other witnesses’ testimony. Or the court may do so on its own.)
- The court is continuing to consider that request. Each side in the case is able to file a brief on the issues before noon on Nov. 25.
- The court modified its standard juror questionnaire at the request of both parties earlier in the week.
- On Nov. 14, FRM and 23XI added Anthony L. Smith as a witness to the case. In a court filing from earlier in the week, NASCAR declared that there is “no excuse” for the “untimely” move.
- On Friday (Nov. 21) text messages between Steve O’Donnell and Steve Phelps were released, in which Phelps called the Superstar Racing Experience a “trash series” and said NASCAR needed to “put a knife” in the stock car series after it was announced that Hamlin would run the SRX race at Stafford Speedway in July 2023.
A member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Samuel also covers NASCAR for Yardbarker, Field Level Media, and Heavy Sports. He will attend the University of Arkansas in the fall of 2025.
When will this go to trial? And or finally be over
What is realistic outcome if one side wins or the other???
There are some around here who know the legal world better than I do, but my understanding is trial is on pace for December, with further appreciable delays unlikely. I will defer to the legal eagles around here to correct any of my understandings below.
If NASCAR wins: 23XI and FRM both become non-chartered teams, and both teams likely are dissolved, as they cannot remain competitive as “open” teams. In theory, they could purchase charters from other teams, or run as open teams, but this is unlikely.
If 23XI and FRM win: NASCAR has indicated they likely would dissolve the charter system. How that would look, and whether this is a bluff by NASCAR is wide open. Could go back to a system similar to pre-charter where the top “X” teams in points are guaranteed starting positions, and the practice of reduced winnings for “open” teams would have to be removed.
If charters remain, NASCAR will likely have to cede some control and $ to teams, as the crux of the case is NASCAR is currently operating as a monopoly, and will have to make changes to cede some control both within the sport, as well as larger picture items like non-compete clauses within tracks and teams. It also would require reworked revenue sharing, as court documents indicate NASCAR is currently profitable, whereas the majority of chartered teams are not.
Nascar needs to get rid of Steve Phelps before he trashes it completly. Most of the problems with Nascar stsrted when he came in from some non racing job.
He’s not the only one who has to go!
This may sound like a small thing for some, (or it probably doesn’t surprise some of the old guard here like myself) but I think the comments Phelps made about the SRX is huge and proves even further that Nascar wants total control of the stock car world (i.e. a monopoly) which is the whole point of the lawsuit.
Agree. It didn’t surprise me either. NASCAR has always been territorial to a fault, and the SRX comments reinforce nothing has changed in their thinking.
The surprises (for me) thus far have been the comments about Childress and the overall fan base, along with the revelation that the vast majority of cup teams are losing money.
I’m no Childress fan at all, but you’d think that sort of venom (“stupid redneck” who “needs to be taken out back and flogged”) would have been reserved for the owners who didn’t sue NASCAR. Speaking of which, Childress is now exploring options to sue for defamation.
As for the fans, you’d think the brass would be smart enough not to call them illiterate, even in private communications.
That court docs show only two teams made money in the year divulged in the court documents is also pretty damning.
I know some around here feel NASCAR will prevail in court. I don’t know the law well enough to argue. What I will say is NASCAR has done a bang up job of pissing off the teams and fans. Between this and all the silly rules of the last decade, they have taken the golden goose out back, shot it, then shot it again for good measure.
I know their disdain for the smaller teams has been evident for many years. The Carl Long incident comes to mind as well as a few others.
Also, they have proven for a long time that they don’t like any pushback from drivers, owners, fans. The way they treated Jeremy Mayfield and Robby Gordon comes to mind.
The comments about the fans is pretty revealing. We knew they didn’t care what we thought but never knew the disdain was this bad. I guess now we know why Nascar does nothing to shed the “redneck” stereotype people have about the sport. Turns out that’s how they feel about us too. Wonder what the fallout will be from those comments.
Steve Phelps still has a job? No dates given for an apology tour or some sort of sensitivity remedial training?
Since BZF was given the helm, he loathed the team owners, the drivers, and the fans. Nothing has changed since his “promotion”.
We know NASCAR is a dysfunctional family of greedy, dishonest, vindictive, incompetent fools.
There will be a clear winner at the trial,
The lawyers.