The biggest lawsuit in NASCAR history has hit the trial phase. Day one on Monday, Dec. 1, proved to be an action-packed nine hours inside a Charlotte, N.C., courtroom as 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports began their civil case against NASCAR.
Jury selection took up most of the afternoon, leading to opening statements and then a portion of one witness’ testimony (Denny Hamlin) before wrapping up.
Here’s a couple of key takeaways from how things are starting to take shape.
NASCAR was busy dodging Michael Jordan bullets during jury selection
It took about five hours for both sides to get through jury selection. Most people are used to the dozen people that comprise juries on, say, Law and Order. But for this case, a total of just nine were selected, six men and three women whose decisions will affect where hundreds of millions of racing dollars wind up.
Read all of Frontstretch‘s content covering the NASCAR vs. 23XI/FRM antitrust lawsuit here
The biggest challenge in picking the jury? Finding people who don’t know Michael Jordan, one of the plaintiffs and also arguably the most well-known former athlete in North America. Frontstretch‘s Michael Massie described one such scenario, part of a run of several jurors dismissed for bias or obvious conflicts of interest.
In the end, both sides settled into nine people they feel will be impartial to the facts. But several of those selected admitted they had at least a cursory knowledge of Jordan. Can NASCAR’s side be confident those people will remain impartial to a celebrity that’ll be sitting mere feet from them for the duration of the two-week trial?
Denny Hamlin will be in the courtroom after all
A big storyline the past few days was how 23XI Racing was limited to one representative during the trial. Jordan was selected to be that person, leaving out co-owners Denny Hamlin and Curtis Polk (Jordan’s business manager) from the courtroom.
FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass explains further why Judge Kenneth Bell forced this decision in the case.
As of yesterday, it looked like Hamlin would get kicked out after opening statements. But in a brilliant move, 23XI/FRM lawyer Jeffrey Kessler listed Hamlin as his opening witness. As a result, there’d be no concerns over Hamlin hearing other witness testimony the rest of the trial as his time on the stand would be complete.
With NASCAR agreeing not to call Hamlin as a witness on rebuttal, that means Hamlin will get to see the entire thing (Polk will return to court after his testimony later in the case). It’s a move that may not mean much to the verdict in the long run but means a lot to one of the key stakeholders who now gets to see how his lawsuit actually plays out.
Hamlin broke down on the witness stand
Hamlin was the lone witness called up on the stand Monday. And he wasted no time getting emotional. According to Frontstretch‘s Massie, Hamlin was in tears describing the struggle he had to raise money and advance his racing career.
Initial testimony (more will come tomorrow) focused on the difficulties in getting sponsorship and surviving as a race team. Hamlin made clear in his testimony one of the biggest obstacles in getting money can be NASCAR, whose own push to get league sponsorship can lead to companies moving in their direction instead.
It’s important for 23XI to establish that line of questioning. For it to win the case, it needs to prove NASCAR used its monopoly power to bully teams out of money they otherwise needed to survive.
Indeed, in Kessler’s opening statement, he referred to the teams needing an additional 6% of NASCAR’s overall revenue (45% versus an estimated 39% now) to remain financially viable over the long term.
NASCAR competing for the same money, and taking it, is part of how you build a case on bullying. The tears only boost the power of the argument.
It wasn’t all crying, though. In a lighter moment on day one, Hamlin was asked about how his 2025 NASCAR season turned out. According to Massie, he said, “Can I plead the 5th?,” a statement which would have elicited laughter if only millions of NASCAR fans could have watched it live.
No one involved in this case is talking … yet
The day ended with a flurry of no-comments from both Hamlin’s and NASCAR’s side. There was no lawyer posturing from either Kessler or NASCAR’s legal team, which debuted counsel John F. Stephenson Jr. to present its case.
It was a mild surprise after weeks of public posturing for all sides to go radio silent. But it’s a long, 10-day slog ahead of us and perhaps the lengthy, exhaustive first day left both sides unwilling to be the one who makes the first move.
Follow Tom Bowles on X at @NASCARBowles
The author of Did You Notice? (Wednesdays) Tom spends his time overseeing Frontstretch’s 50+ staff members as its majority owner and Editor-in-Chief. Based outside Philadelphia, Bowles is a two-time Emmy winner in NASCAR television and has worked in racing production with FOX, TNT, and ESPN while appearing on-air for SIRIUS XM Radio and FOX Sports 1's former show, the Crowd Goes Wild. He most recently consulted with SRX Racing, helping manage cutting-edge technology and graphics that appeared on their CBS broadcasts during 2021 and 2022.
You can find Tom’s writing here, at CBSSports.com and Athlonsports.com, where he’s been an editorial consultant for the annual racing magazine for 15 years.
Why would poor denny hamlin start crying about financial difficulty. He is worth millions why would anyone feel sorry for him. He is like all the rest of the owners who want to race with other peoples money not their own. If you cant afford to race then quit or spend some of your money.
Having nine people who know absolutely nothing about our sport deciding the future of our sport seems really bad.
Agree. I understand wanting to have an unbiased jury, but no matter how you slice it, to attempt to have a jury which knows next to nothing of Michael Jordan is laughable. It also makes me question how many who wound up on the jury were truthful about their knowledge, or lack thereof.
In trying to think who could possibly be unaware of Jordan, in North Carolina no less, I can only come up with those who absolutely hate sports in general, and additionally do not have any sort of social circle.
I live in a state which abuts North Carolina. I know many who do not watch sports. I can’t think of a single one who would not know who Michael Jordan is, and his status as a sports legend. One cannot even surf streaming services or TV listings without seeing listings for documentaries which make clear Jordan’s status, whether you watch them or not.
If this jury doesn’t know this, this also tells me they have no understanding of how sports, including auto racing work. It also tells me they’re built differently than the average American. This is neither good nor bad in the overall scheme of things, but it adds variability to the possible outcomes here. This could lead a wild decision if this case indeed runs its full course without a compromise.
Being a Detroit Pistons fan from back in the ‘Bad Boys’ era, I don’t think I would have made the jury.
Yea, we may have the village idiots on that jury.
It is possible that people know who he is (Jordan) without putting him on a pedestal. Not everyone hero worships star former athletes
So how then would you construct the jury if this process seems bad? Keeping in mind, of course, that for the last 2 plus years people with lots of knowledge on the sport could reach no agreement.
I would also suggest that both Nascar and the teams are not realizing that compromise without this trial will yield a better future result than what will happen as a result of the court trial.
Like many, this trial has done great things….for IndyCar ticket sales, World of Outlaws and High Limits tickets sales and even for the cheap seats at Formula 1 events. Because after who “wins” gets done gloating, how do you put together a 36 car field for the season…because they are obligated to do that to meet contractual requirements with “our TV partners.”
Spot on about the winners here. The winners are all other racing series, sitting back with popcorn and laughing their butts off at all the outrageous statements and facts which are coming to light. No one directly involved in this suit will win. There will just be gradations of losers.