Plaintiffs Wrap Up Testimony In NASCAR Trial As The Defense Takes Over

Testimony for the plaintiffs in the NASCAR Trial concluded on December 10, as the Anti-Trust Trial involving 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports moved to NASCAR’s defense.

The anti-trust trial in Federal Court in Charlotte, North Carolina is in the middle of the second week as 23XI Racing and Front Row are suing NASCAR for monopolistic practices regarding the Charter agreement.

NASCAR Chairman Jim France concluded his testimony on Wednesday morning, setting the stage for NASCAR attorneys to call defense witnesses.

France was the final witness called by the plaintiffs. His cross-examination concluded on Wednesday morning.

According to a report from The Charlotte Observer, defense attorney Chris Yates informed Judge Kenneth D. Bell that it is his team’s goal to get through all their witnesses by the end of the week. If that happens, closing arguments could begin on Monday, December 15.

“We will endeavor to be as efficient as possible,” Yates said.

That could be difficult as the defense had over 10 people on its potential witness list. Yates said he and his team would pare down the list.

Richard Childress Upset After Details Of A Potential Sale Addressed In NASCAR Trial

One interesting point that came from NASCAR team owner Richard Childress in testimony for the plaintiffs was the revelation that he had been in discussions with former NASCAR driver Bobby Hillin, Jr. to sell a percentage in Richard Childress Racing.

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Childress has been involved in NASCAR racing, first as a driver and then as a full-time team owner, since 1969.

Childress owns 60 percent of the team. The other 40 percent is owned by equity partner Chartwell Investments, which has wanted out of their ownership of RCR for the last “five or six years.” When asked directly, Childress admitted to considering selling part of his stake to Hillin, too.

When pressed on financial details of the sale, the 80-year-old Childress was irked at the line of questioning from NASCAR’s attorney. Childress said NDLs (non-disclosure agreements) had been signed, preventing him from revealing those details.

Judge Bell told Childress he was under oath and had to answer the questions.

“I don’t want to answer that,” Childress said before Judge Bell gave his order.

Motorsport.com described Childress as being “blindsided” by the questioning and instructions by Judge Bell.

Prior to his cross-examination, Childress took a line of questioning from plaintiff attorney Danielle Williams and was direct in his frustrations with NASCAR and its current model of business.

Childress disagreed with much of the 2025 charter agreement.

“We were negotiating a better contract for the charters,” said Childress, who owns two full-time Cup Series charters. “And then it just didn’t happen that way.”

The Charter system began in 2016 and guarantee teams starting positions in every NASCAR Cup Series race and a share of revenue with NASCAR. However, the Charters are not permanent.

Those Charters are renegotiated after seven-to-nine years.

“It wouldn’t cost NASCAR nothing to give us a (permanent) franchise,” Childress said. “All we want to do is be good partners.”

According to the Observer, Childress also agreed with other owners who have testified and said that NASCAR offered the teams a “take-it-or-leave-it” ultimatum in September: In other words, if you don’t sign now, you lose your charters.

Childress begrudgingly signed, but the plaintiffs in the trial, 23XI Racing, owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, and Front Row Motorsports, owned by Bob Jenkins, refused to sign and filed the lawsuit against NASCAR.

“We would have lost them,” Chidress said. “Financially, I couldn’t lose our charters.”

NASCAR Chairman Jim France Concludes His Testimony

Jim France has the final word for NASCAR as the Chairman of the company that was founded in 1948 by his father, Bill France. His older brother, Bill France, Jr., took over NASCAR in the 1970s.

When both Frances passed away over the years, the 80-year-old France continues the family legacy as the leader of the stock car racing series.

France was questioned about an email that included NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell stating, “Jim’s overarching comment” in a charter negotiations meeting was a fiery one — “We are in a competition … we are going to win!”

When asked to recall that comment, France said, “I’m not sure.” He added, “That would be his interpretation.”

Financial Details Of The ‘Next Gen’ Car Revealed In NASCAR Trial

NASCAR executive vice president John Probst took the stand on Wednesday to begin the defense.

Propst also serves as the Chief Racing Development Officer for NASCAR and is responsible for changes the Next Gen car.

Propst revealed financial details that NASCAR spent researching and developing the Gen 7 car.

Probst says it cost $14 million total to research and develop the car and said that the teams had no part in the design process.

Teams such as 23XI Racing and Front Row took issue with single source parts for the Next Gen when previously, teams built their own chassis or purchased the cars from other manufacturers.

Teams could build parts or use other vendors as along as their fell within NASCAR rules and regulations.

With the Next Gen, NASCAR owns the intellectual property of the car and design of the car

It’s up to the jury to decide which argument they believe is most credible.

NASCAR Communications Issues End Of Day Statement

At 8:10 p.m. Eastern Time, NASCAR Communications issued the following statement, which is being added in its entirety for transparency purposes:

“Today’s testimony from NASCAR Chairman and CEO Jim France recounted the sage advice he received from his parents growing up: “Always do what you say you’re going to do,” according to his father Bill France Sr., the founder of NASCAR and “always pay your bills,” according to his mother, Annie B. who was NASCAR’s first CFO. He took that counsel when he competed in some racing series himself, including in U.S. Legends Cars, and got into the family business.

“In that vein, Mr. France confirmed to the jury today that from his perspective, the premier stock car racing organization made monetary, governance and new business compromises in negotiations with the teams for the 2024 charters despite allegations in the antitrust lawsuit by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports.

  • Mr. France also highlighted to the jury his concerns around granting permanent charters to racing teams, pointing out that NASCAR is not structured like “stick and ball” sports leagues.
  • He told the jury that based on his decades of experience in motorsports, it did not know how to design a permanent contract that accounts for the future evolution of the sport and business. As he put it: “I don’t think you can do anything permanent in this changing world.”
  • For approximately 45 years, NASCAR paid the drivers directly and they paid the teams, but as the sport evolved we were able to change that with race teams, Mr. France testified, adding that NASCAR would not have been able to do that if it had had permanent agreements with drivers.

“John Probst, NASCAR EVP and Chief Racing Development Officer, testified about extensive efforts NASCAR has made to help race teams control costs while making the sport more exciting to fans, including developing the Next Gen car which delivered historic levels of competition throughout the sport and parity among teams big and small. He began his career working with Ford on their motor racing program as well as with Red Bull Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing teams in NASCAR.

  • Probst said that NASCAR has spent $14 million to develop and continues to invest in the Next Gen car. The Next Gen program was endorsed by 15 teams that hold 30 charters.
  • Probst also delved into the money spent by teams on shops, R&D, war rooms, planes and manufacturing car parts. He noted that race teams spending the most were not always the most competitive in races based on data NASCAR aggregated, and he told teams that spending more money does not equal more wins.
  • He confirmed that NASCAR does not make any money from parts sold to the teams, and that the Single Source Parts program was designed to make it easier for teams so they didn’t have to develop and manufacture the parts they needed. He also told the jury that teams are involved before a final decision is made as part of an extensive multi-prong process.
  • Probst noted various other cost management strategies implemented to halt the constant arms race by teams to make modifications to their race cars.

“Finally, there has been a fair bit of watercooler discussion about WiFi services offered by NASCAR at racetracks for races and the prices paid by race teams. As Probst testified, there are multiple tiers of service, some as low as $1,000 and he confirmed that nothing prevents teams from bringing in their own service – an expensive proposition that many teams found burdensome enough to ask NASCAR to create the WiFi service now under scrutiny.”

The NASCAR trial resumes on Thursday, December 11 as Judge Bell continues to press the defense to have all witness testimony concluded by Friday so closing arguments can begin on December 15.

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