NBA legend Jordan files anti-trust lawsuit against NASCAR

An auto racing team co-owned by NBA legend Michael Jordan filed an anti-trust lawsuit on Wednesday against the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) and its chief executive Jim France.

The legal fight in the most popular form of US auto racing had six-time NBA champion Jordan's 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports jointly filing against France and NASCAR in the Western District of North Carolina at Charlotte, where former Chicago Bulls star Jordan, 61, is a part-owner of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets.

"Everyone knows that I have always been a fierce competitor and that will to win is what drives me and the entire 23XI team each and every week out on the track," Jordan said in a statement.

"I love the sport of racing and the passion of our fans, but the way NASCAR is run today is unfair to teams, drivers, sponsors, and fans.

"Today's action shows I'm willing to fight for a competitive market where everyone wins."

The suit argues the closed-cockpit stock car racing circuit and its leaders have used anti-competitive practices to prevent fair competition.

"We share a passion for racing, the thrill of competition, and winning. Off the racetrack, we share a belief that change is necessary for the sport we love," the teams said in a joint statement.

"Together, we brought this anti-trust case so that racing can thrive and become a more competitive and fair sport in ways that will benefit teams, drivers, sponsors, and, most importantly, fans."

According to the lawsuit, NASCAR and the France family operate without transparency, stifle competition, and control the sport of stock car racing in ways that unfairly benefit them at the expense of team owners, drivers, sponsors, partners and fans.

The teams accuse NASCAR of such anti-competitive practices as buying most of the top racetracks exclusive to NASCAR races, imposing exclusivity deals on NASCAR-sanctioned tracks, acquiring stock car competitor Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA), preventing teams from participating in other stock car races and forcing teams to buy their parts from single-source suppliers chosen by NASCAR.

"No other major professional sport in North America is run by a single family that enriches themselves through these kinds of unchecked monopolistic practices," the teams said in a statement.

'The only way'

Front Row and 23XI did not sign recently updated NASCAR charter agreements, claiming the terms were unfair to teams.

"After more than two years of attempted negotiations over the 2025 agreements, during which NASCAR continually stonewalled and refused to engage constructively, we concluded that litigation was the only way to address the anti-competitive practices of NASCAR and the France family," the teams said.

The teams plan to file a preliminary injunction to allow the teams to race in NASCAR next year while pursuing anti-trust litigation.

Denny Hamlin, a 54-time NASCAR winner as a driver and a part-owner of 23XI Racing, said not all teams share fairly in NASCAR's success.

"Everyone who invests in making the sport a success should share fairly in that success," Hamlin said. "With the right changes we can certainly make that a reality in racing."

© 2024 AFP