"It could take a year or two": Dale Earnhardt Jr. breaks silence with his take on 23XI and FRM's NASCAR lawsuit drama

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has broken the silence on the ongoing charter drama involving 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports. The NASCAR Hall of Famer outlined that the suit might take years before a verdict is passed, putting 23XI and FRM's 2025 charter for a toss.

On October 2, Michael Jordan's co-owned team and Bob Jenkins' outfit filed an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR's CEO Jim France. The teams requested a preliminary injunction, barring NASCAR from taking away their charter and thus guaranteeing their entry in every points-paying race.

The Charlotte federal court asked 23XI and FRM to justify the grounds for the said injunction, following which they highlighted that big sponsors could part ways if the charter is not granted. Moreover, nearly 15% of the charter revenue is generated from the season-opener Daytona 500, which could burn a big hole in the teams' pockets if the charter is stripped.

However, NASCAR filed against the motion, stating the issue was a breach of contract, not a breach of trust. As a result, a hearing was scheduled for October 16. But Hurricane Milton didn't let NASCAR open their office, so the courts postponed the trial, which will now take place on November 4.

Dale Earnahrdt Jr. previously spoke about the odds of the charter drama going to the courts but has opined for the first time on the antitrust lawsuit. He expressed that the matter could take years to wrap up and that the team's accounting books would become public. He elaborated and said (via Dirty Mo Media).

"So, you know, there's not much news or much update, and I wouldn't expect a lot of updates coming through. This is something I'm hearing may drag out for quite sometime, could take a year or two. I know there are some levers that get pulled really quickly," (49:38).

"They either have started that process in terms of how NASCAR's got to make their position known, and they're going to have to give up some records very soon about their books, and we're already reading into some of the information that has been made available on 23XI and Front Row in terms of their finances. So, that stuff's going to become more and more over the short period of time,"

NASCAR has frozen 23XI's charter purchase from Stewart-Haas Racing amid the ongoing lawsuit.

---

"I don't see this turning into a clown show": Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn't foresee 23XI and FRM taking the big step against NASCAR

NASCAR eyed wrapping up the charter negotiations before the playoff-opener began at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The teams were asked to submit their approval by Friday midnight (September 6), and the holdouts were at risk of losing their charters. Thus, it prompted all but two teams to sign the agreement.

During the two-year-long negotiations, the teams asked for a say in NASCAR's governing matters, more share from the prize purse, a lifetime guarantee of the charters, and a piece of the pie NASCAR earned through endorsing the teams or their drivers.

Not only was the France family unwilling to make charters a one-time deal, but the terms indicate that the sport's owning family could hold charters and field their own teams in NASCAR-warranted events. Notably, Denny Hamlin underlined that France personally met with some team owners and that the meeting exhibited an unlikely improvement of the existing terms.

Despite the big-time drama, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was confident the matter wouldn't knock on the federal court's door. He said (via Dirty Mo Media).

"It's interesting, interesting times. I honestly don't see this creating — I don't see this turning into a clown show, or creating some sort of a legal battle, I don't. I mean, (23XI Racing) may, but I don't think anyone's going to really care. I don't, you know, I don't think the public is going to invest emotionally in any litigation or a legal battle," (1:04.32).

If the federal court declines the teams' injunction request, they would have to field their NextGen rides as open cars in 2025, which could negatively impact their sponsorships.