Reeling from lawsuit disappointment, 23XI and FRM face yet another crushing blow

23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are set to start Sunday's AdventHealth 400 with a major setback. Tyler Reddick's No. 45 Toyota and Todd Gilliland's No. 34 Ford each failed Saturday's opening inspection twice at Kansas Speedway, leading to the loss of their car chiefs.

Coming into the weekend, both teams suffered a critical blow with their lawsuit against NASCAR, as they stand to lose their charter benefits for next season. The outcome could spell disaster for both teams, for it would mean they'd have to qualify for every Cup Series race and risk losing sponsors and their drivers because of it.

To make matters worse, NASCAR failed the No. 45 and the No. 34 teams twice during Saturday's tech inspections, meaning they'd lose a crew member of the sanctioning body's choosing and their pit stall selection for Sunday's 400-miler. Failing inspection once would've incurred no such penalties, as the cars would just be allowed to make adjustments.

Fortunately, the teams resolved their issues and passed inspection by the third attempt, for yet another failure would've left them unable to qualify and, in addition, serve a pass-through penalty at the start of the race.

NASCAR analyst Bob Pockrass reported on the news through his X handle and stated

"All Cup cars through tech. Reddick and Gilliland cars failed twice and expected to lose crew member and pit stall selection. Their cars passed on third time by."

Pockrass later reported that 23XI and FRM's car chiefs were ejected as a result of the two failed inspection.

"Reddick and Gilliland had their car chiefs ejected for two failures," he wrote.

The car chiefs being ejected were Michael Hobson for 23XI and Joe Marra for FRM. The loss leaves the team with a risk of failing the post-race inspection, as the car chiefs make sure that the cars meet all NASCAR requirements. Moreover, pit stall selection is strategic in nature, and the loss of it would mean that they get the leftover spot that other teams have rejected.

Post-qualifying, Tyler Reddick secured fourth place, while Todd Gilliland qualified lower down the order at 23rd.

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23XI and FRM come under fire over their NASCAR anti-trust lawsuit

On May 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals held the hearing for 23XI and FRM's antitrust lawsuit. NASCAR appealed to have the teams' charter status overturned, while both teams alleged monopolistic practices by the sanctioning body. In response, the panel of judges questioned the two racing organizations for trying to retain their charters while also suing the governing body.

NASCAR reporter Bob Pockrass shared a brief overview of the day's proceedings on his X handle:

"Hearing is over. Judges seemed troubled that 23XI/FRM trying to have cake (be chartered) & eat it too (sue under antitrust violations) & whether not-to-sue clause in charter agreement is violation of antitrust law. Implied either sign charter or sue for damages while racing open."

He further added context and said,

"Judges often ask hard questions/critical arguments to both sides. Trying to predict how they will rule can be tough b/c sometimes they question the side they actually likely will rule for more critically to make sure of their opinion."

23XI and FRM are currently under temporary charter status following an injunction from last December. While the court hasn't ruled in anyone's favour yet, it's set to conclude the case before the 2026 NASCAR season.