NASCAR is trying to screw over a team that no longer exists

NASCAR now finds itself in somewhat of a desperate situation, having been left licking its wounds following a judge's ruling earlier this week in favor of the two teams that filed an antitrust lawsuit against the sanctioning body and Chairman Jim France.

23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports finally got a dose of long-awaited good news when a judge ruled that the two teams are indeed allowed to sign the charter agreement while pursuing their lawsuit.

The decision came after several months of litigation in response to the two teams' decisions not to sign the charter agreement like the other teams that officially account for 30 of the 36 charters.

The preliminary injunction means that 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are indeed allowed to race as chartered teams in 2025 using their existing two charters. It also means that NASCAR cannot block the sale of additional charters to them from Stewart-Haas Racing, allowing them to each purchase one like they had initially planned on.

Do the math, and you get back up to 36 charters.

The problem is NASCAR isn't content with the outcome, and they have decided to appeal. And in doing so, they are effectively trying to screw over a team that no longer exists.

NASCAR is suddenly willing to allow 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports to race as chartered teams, but only with their existing two entries. However, they want the other benefits of charter membership delayed for both teams.

NASCAR has also asked that the enforcement of the preliminary injunction be delayed in the hope of continuing to delay the transfer of the Stewart-Haas Racing charters to those two teams. In other words, they want to continue to block those acquisitions.

Success for NASCAR here would mean that the charter tally drops back down to 34, and that the two missing charters still belong to a team that no longer exists.

Stewart-Haas Racing shut down after the 2024 season, and two of their four charters found new homes for 2025. Team co-owner Gene Haas actually retained one of the two to run a new one-car Haas Factory Team, and the other one went to Trackhouse Racing. Like 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, Trackhouse Racing have expanded to three cars for 2025.

When it was initially ruled that NASCAR had blocked the transfer of Stewart-Haas Racing's other two charters to 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports as a result of this lawsuit, there were reportedly other inquiries made regarding the availability of those charters.

The problem is that several would-be candidates to add charters for next year are no longer in play, and as the 2025 season nears, it becomes less and less likely that a team would make a last-minute decision to add a full-time entry.

That ultimately means Stewart-Haas Racing would be unable to get the upwards of $20 million they had planned on getting for each charter, as their value inherently declines as more and more time passes.

While third charters would be nice for 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, they already appear to be the big winners here. Most notably, the Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan-owned team no longer run the risk of Tyler Reddick leaving, given the fact that it is in his contract that he must drive a chartered car.

Both teams still plan to run three cars regardless, with 23XI Racing having already confirmed Riley Herbst alongside Reddick and Bubba Wallace and Front Row Motorsports expected to confirm Zane Smith alongside Todd Gilliland and Noah Gragson.

The judge siding with NASCAR would certainly be a setback after this week's ruling, but it wouldn't hurt them as much as it would screw over a team that effectively no longer exists, leaving two charters without homes – and with very little in the way of potential suitors – less than two months before the start of the 2025 season.

The charter deals reportedly need to be closed with Stewart-Haas Racing by Friday, December 20, so NASCAR wants a ruling to be made on Friday.

Should NASCAR get their way here, it would not be out of the question for Gene Haas to pursue legal action of his own, given the apparent devaluation of the blocked charters. While this week's ruling was a step in the right direction, there are still far more questions than answers moving forward.

The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season is scheduled to begin with the Busch Light Clash preseason exhibition race at Bowman Gray Stadium on Sunday, February 2. The official 36-race season is scheduled to get underway with the 67th annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, February 16.