NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps issued his most expansive comments to date on the lawsuit with 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports during his State of the Sport speech Friday at Phoenix Raceway, giving a prepared statement that lasted more than six minutes on the topic.
Phelps stated that “we are trying our hardest. I am trying my hardest both as a fan as well as the commissioner of this sport that I’ve loved since I was five years old. While two of the teams of 15 teams may not share that view and seem set on an unfortunate court battle, I hope that we can all agree that our racing is as good as it has ever been and we care about how we serve our fans, especially as we look forward to capping off our season by celebrating new champions across all of our national series.”
The antitrust lawsuit filed by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports against NASCAR is scheduled to go to trial Dec. 1. A recent settlement conference did not lead to a resolution between the two sides. Judge Kenneth D. Bell dismissed NASCAR’s counterclaim Tuesday against 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports.
Phelps defended what NASCAR has provided teams with the charter system.
#NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps’ full statement on the lawsuit with 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports during his State of the Sport speech Friday at Phoenix. pic.twitter.com/rcbWpRH4Me
— Dustin Long (@dustinlong) October 31, 2025
“Healthy race teams are critical to our sport,” Phelps read. “We’ve been true to our word. From the outset, we’ve been clear, this is not an anti-trust case.
“The 2025 charter agreement is an improvement on the 2016 framework with enhancements that reflect real progress for teams and the sport, including over $3 billion in guaranteed payments to the teams, enterprise value that is roughly $1.5 billion now to the race teams, guaranteed starting positions each week that allow teams to sell sponsorship on the best billboards in sports, the Next Gen car, and charters guaranteed for 14 years until at least 2039, plus an obligation to negotiate in good faith beyond that.”
Phelps also said: “We are proud of what we built for fans together with the race teams, especially since the charters were introduced. As you saw in the race team declarations, the charter system is a critical part of the sport, something we created with and for the teams. We’ll continue to defend and preserve it. Make no mistake, the lawsuit puts this at risk.”
Be the first to comment