In October, Hall of Fame NBA guard and 23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan helped bring a federal antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR—accusing stock car racing's governing body of monopolistic, anticompetitive practices through its charter system.
Despite filing the lawsuit, 23XI Racing was granted an injunction that compelled NASCAR to treat the team as a chartered team in 2025. That period may be over.
A federal appeals court on Thursday vacated the injunction protecting 23XI Racing and the other team to file the suit, Front Row Racing.
"We are disappointed by today’s ruling by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and are reviewing the decision to determine our next step," attorney Jeffrey Kessler said via David Rumsey of Front Office Sports. "We remain confident in our case and committed to racing for the entirety of this season as we continue our fight to create a fair and just economic system for stock car racing that is free of anticompetitive, monopolistic conduct."
23XI Racing now has two weeks to file a petition for another hearing, so there is still some time before the ruling would impact their status on the current season.
In NASCAR, teams with charters are reserved a certain number of automatic spots in races. There are currently fifteen such full-time teams in NASCAR, including the two that have sued.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Michael Jordan's NASCAR Team Dealt Substantial Blow in Court Battle.
