Facing the imminent loss of their Cup Series ownership charters following a decision by the Fourth Circuit of Appeals, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports have signaled their response to keep them throughout the remainder of the antitrust lawsuit and countersuit they are embroiled with NASCAR over.
In the earliest weeks of the federal antitrust lawsuit, the two teams sought an order from the court for NASCAR to recognize the teams as ‘chartered’ despite both not signing an extension of the agreement that was the source of the legal conflict.
Read more: Why two Cup teams and NASCAR are suing each other
Judge Kenneth D. Bell, the presiding judge over the case in the Western District of North Carolina, ultimately ruled in favor of 23XI and Front Row after the teams showed ‘imminent harm’ and ‘a likelihood of success’ regarding the suit.
Specifically, the teams argued they could not pursue legal action and participate in the charter agreement due to a clause in the document that prevented participating teams from suing NASCAR. The two teams also provided evidence of opt-out clauses in driver and sponsorship contracts that could be executed if the two teams did not have chartered status.
The teams also successfully argued that the protective injunction would preserve the status quo of the moment legal proceedings began.
Read more: What is NASCAR’s charter system and how it works
NASCAR appealed that decision from the Western District to the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Virginia and a three-judge panel ruled against the teams — using an argument that 23XI and Front Row could not ‘have their cake and eat it’ when it comes to wanting to sue over the charter agreement while also wanting the benefits.
Charter status entitles teams to guaranteed revenue through TV money and other programs. Teams can race without charters but they are at risk of failing to qualify if there is more than a full field and such ‘open teams’ earn less than a third of the money they would earn as a chartered team.
Due to the decision issued by the Fourth Circuit this week, the two teams and their six combined cars would be at risk of losing their chartered status by the race next weekend at Dover International Speedway.
The teams have now seemingly adopted a strategy of filing a new injunction request to the District Court using new evidence it suggests has emerged this season or over the course of fact discovery this summer.
They have motioned, which has been granted, to file this injunction under seal and the judge will then determine what un-redact publicly.
The timeline of the motion filing was not established and as of Friday, the two teams have not filed their injunction request with the Western District court.
