The courts have ruled against 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports in their request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) as they seek a new preliminary injunction. The hope was that they would secure a TRO in order to prevent NASCAR from revoking their charters, but that has failed. They will compete as open entries at Dover Motor Speedway this weekend.
23XI fields the No. 23 of Bubba Wallace, No. 35 of Riley Herbst, and the No. 45 of Tyler Reddick. FRM has the the No. 4 of Noah Gragson, the No. 34 of Todd Gilliland, and the No. 38 of Zane Smith.
Of note, the judge said they would reconsider the court's denial of the TRO if the teams were actually in danger of missing the race, but only 37 cars have entered with NASCAR allowing up to 40 before sending cars home. Should 23XI and FRM end up in danger of missing a race due to field size, that could qualify as irreparable harm and a TRO may actually be granted.
How we got here
Originally, 23XI and FRM were granted an injunction in December of last year, which allowed them to compete under the 2025 Charter Agreement while suing NASCAR over that very same agreement. They specifically targeted a release clause (the ability of either party to file a lawsuit) while claiming NASCAR operated as an unlawful monopoly and violated antitrust laws.
Both FRM and 23XI went out and purchased a charter from the now-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing, expanding into three-car teams for the new year. However, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals revoked that injunction on June 5th. The teams attempted to get a rehearing, but were denied.
What happens next?
They then filed a request for a TRO and a new preliminary injunction in order to hold onto the charters, citing new evidence and stating NASCAR intended to immediately sell the charters. The injunction was not part of Thursday's ruling, and NASCAR has assured the courts that the charters will not be sold before that ruling.
Financially, this is a massive blow as they will miss out on a lot of the weekly purse money. Certain contracts with partners and even drivers may also be voided with no charter present, and should more than 40 cars show up for any given race weekend, they would be forced to qualify on time with no guaranteed starting spot.
This does not directly impact the championship in any way, as open teams are welcomed to compete for the title and operate under the same rules as the chartered teams. However, there are no open teams (until now) choosing to contest the full-season because it is financially unfeasible for most.
