23XI and FRM release strong response against NASCAR in their legal battle - All things you need to know

23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports fired a response to NASCAR on Tuesday (September 2) in the ongoing legal battle between the parties. The latest development stems from the preliminary injunction hearing, where the teams are attempting to overturn their denial to retain their charters for the rest of the 2025 Cup Series season.

Motorsports insider Jeff Gluck has been covering the latest developments in the ongoing court battle between the sport's sanctioning body and the two race teams. In the response, 23XI and FRM laid out a number of requests to make the preliminary injunction go away until the legal battle is resolved.

Gluck reported that the teams requested NASCAR to not change the rules, allowing teams to race for the remainder of the 2025 season, not to transfer any of the six charters until the case reaches a resolution, agree that the teams own the charters, not to issue, sell, or transfer any charters for the rest of the season, and to not sell or transfer more than four charters for 2026.

Gluck then added a statement in his lengthy X post regarding the response, writing:

"Anyway, the teams say NASCAR 'refused to make any changes to their commitments and representations, which left Plaintiffs with no choice other than to maintain their Motion for Preliminary Injunction to seek to preserve the status quo through the trial.'"

Jeff Gluck

@jeff_gluck

Here is what the teams offered to make the preliminary injunction request go away:​-- NASCAR won't change the rule that allows the teams to make every race for the rest of this year (NASCAR already said this in their Friday notice)-- NASCAR won't transfer any of the six former charters until the case is resolved-- NASCAR will agree the teams own the two disputed SHR charters and won't seek to unwind the sale of those and sell them to someone else until the case is resolved-- NASCAR won't issue/sell/transfer any charters this season (NASCAR already offered this in their Friday notice)-- NASCAR won't sell/transfer more than four charters for 2026 (NASCAR already offered this on Friday), which in theory would allow the teams to get their six back if they won. And there were a few stipulations with this, like the teams getting to retain their rights to their performance-related history, etc.

The ongoing legal battle pitting NASCAR against 23XI and FRM began when the two teams didn't reach a charter agreement ahead of the 2025 season. The teams filed a lawsuit against NASCAR, accusing the sport of monopolistic practices and for violating the Sherman Antitrust Act. Because neither side is coming to agreement, Gluck said it could lie in the hands of a judge.

"Again, not a lot of budging here. The judge didn't want to have to rule on this, but both sides are putting him in a spot where he now has to," Jeff Gluck wrote.

NASCAR set for second Cup playoff race of 2025 on Sunday

While things have been heating up in the courtroom off the track, the same can be said for the on-track action in the NASCAR Cup Series. This Sunday (September 7), the circuit returns to the World Wide Technology Raceway for the Enjoy Illinois 300, the second playoff race of the 2025 season.

This past Sunday at Darlington (August 31), Chase Briscoe put on a dominant performance and took the checkered flag in the playoff opener. The win guarantees the driver of the #19 a pass through the remainder of the Round of 16 into the Round of 12.

The remaining 15 drivers are still seeking a spot in the next round. The four drivers below the cut line heading into Sunday include Joey Logano, Austin Dillon, Alex Bowman, and Josh Berry.