Insider warns 23XI Racing of the ‘biggest impact’ if the NASCAR charter dispute doesn’t go their way

The Federal Court denied 23XI Racing's request for a preliminary injunction and a temporary restraining order against NASCAR on Thursday evening (July 17). So now, the organization will compete as an open team in its upcoming races at Dover Motor Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

This means that 23XI Racing, a three-car team owned by Denny Hamlin and NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, will not have guaranteed starting spots for the aforementioned races. Besides, the money they will receive as revenue is going to be significantly less than what the chartered teams will get.

However, that’s not even the biggest impact on the North Carolina-based outfit, said veteran FOX journalist Bob Pockrass recently on Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour Podcast.

“Maybe the biggest discussion or the biggest impact would be theoretically, without a charter, drivers probably can become free agents because their contracts typically require a charter car,” Pockrass explained (35:50). “Now, do you expect any of them to leave? No, but Tyler Reddick, pretty darn good driver, and you would think that if there is a chance that he is available, a team potentially could make an offer for him.”

This could distract 23XI Racing as they continue their playoff push. But it’s still something that the team has to consider as things go forward. Notably, this Sunday’s (July 20) race at Dover will mark 23XI Racing’s first time competing in a points-paying race as an unchartered team.

That being said, there will be fewer than 40 entries for this weekend’s race. Which means that 23XI Racing will not be in jeopardy of missing it. The same goes for the following week’s race at IMS. However, nobody knows what will happen beyond that.

“We are disappointed”- 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports’ statement following the Court’s recent ruling

23XI Racing isn’t the only team that did not sign NASCAR’s newest charter agreement ahead of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. Front Row Motorsports, also a three-car team, joined forces with them.

After Thursday’s ruling, a joint statement from the teams read:

“We are disappointed that the court declined to grant 23XI and Front Row Motorsports a temporary restraining order to allow the teams to continue racing as chartered teams. We remain confident that our motion for a preliminary injunction is legally warranted and necessary, and we look forward to the court’s full review.”

“We made the decision to bring this lawsuit to challenge NASCAR’s monopolistic practices and bullying tactics, and we are not going to let them push our teams – or others – out of the sport that they love," it added.

Per reports, the court denied their request for issuing a temporary restraining order because NASCAR said they wouldn’t sell the charters (that previously belonged to 23XI and FRM) before the preliminary injunction is “fully briefed and ruled upon.”