23XI and Front Row Seek Dismissal of NASCAR’s Countersuit in Antitrust Battle

23XI, owned by Michael Jordan and NASCAR star Denny Hamlin, and Front Row Motorsports have filed a motion to dismiss a countersuit filed by NASCAR against them.

This comes days after a representative of Jordan claimed that NASCAR was getting personal in the legal battle by targeting his business partner, Curtis Polk. The clash between both teams and NASCAR began in October 2024, after 23XI and Front Row stepped back from signing the new charter agreement.

The teams opted for the legal route against NASCAR and its CEO Jim France for allegedly monopolizing stock car racing in an unlawful manner. Newsweek Sports reported a statement from NASCAR earlier this month, announcing a counterclaim against 23XI and Front Row. It read:

“It is truly ironic that in trying to blow-up the Charter system, 23XI and FRM have sought to weaponize the antitrust laws to achieve their goals.

“That is because the undisputed reality is that it is 23XI and FRM, led by 23XI’s owner and sports agent Curtis Polk (23XI, FRM, and Curtis Polk collectively, ‘Counterclaim Defendants’), who willfully violated the antitrust laws by orchestrating anticompetitive collective conduct in connection with the terms of the 2025 Charter Agreements.”

Weeks later, NASCAR attorney Christopher Yates took aim at Polk, prompting a strong reaction from Jordan through a spokeswoman. She said:

“Curtis and MJ stand united. His perspective is if you are coming after Curtis, you are coming after him. He doesn’t look at this as just business. It’s personal.”

Hamlin also added:

“That’s like saying a chef doesn’t know how to cook. He’s built Michael Jordan’s empire for the last 30 years. The guy knows the business. Curtis has just been fantastic for our team and certainly a pioneer, I believe, and a trailblazer for new ideas that our team uses every single time we hit the racetrack and how we do business.”

Now though, both teams have filed to dismiss the counterclaim, calling it “an act of desperation.” Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass shared on X:

“NASCAR’s retaliatory counterclaim is an act of desperation that cannot withstand a motion to dismiss. It does not allege the facts necessary to state a claim. Instead, NASCAR is using the counterclaim to engage in litigation gamesmanship, with the transparent objective of intimidating the other racing teams by threatening them with severe consequences if they support Plaintiffs’ challenge to the unlawful NASCAR monopoly.

“NASCAR’s lead counsel used the filing of the counterclaim as an occasion to conduct a press conference in which he delivered a warning that NASCAR will end the charter system that the racing teams depend on if Plaintiffs prevail in their antitrust claims.”