NASCAR has filed a document to the Court announcing a voluntary commitment. It will not transfer any additional charters for the 2025 season until the conclusion of the antitrust lawsuit trial involving 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports.
The document filed on Friday featured four main declarations. The first is that NASCAR will not change the rule allowing up to six open teams in the remaining races this season. The second stated that NASCAR will not "issue, sell, convey, or lease" any additional charters for the 2025 season.
The third stated that it will not effectuate a sale, conveyance, or lease of the two former Stewart-Haas Racing charters without Court approval. Finally, NASCAR stated it will not issue, sell, convey, or lease more than four additional charters for the 2026 Cup Series season pending the outcome of the trial.
MORE: NASCAR notice regarding charters
NASCAR allows for 40 charters, provided the other chartered organizations do not exercise their right of first refusal. If NASCAR issues four charters for the 2026 Cup Series season, that will leave six in case 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports prevail during trial.
The future of these charters brought NASCAR, 23XI Racing, and Front Row Motorsports into a hearing on Thursday afternoon. The two teams made a preliminary injunction request to "preserve the status quo."
According to lead attorney Jeffrey Kessler, doing so meant that the Court would force NASCAR to recognize them as chartered organizations, or at a bare minimum, prevent the transfer of the charters they previously held.
NASCAR, who said that the two teams were trying to "upend the status quo," opposed the injunction request. They said in the hearing that interested owners and equity firms were beating on the door, trying to get a charter. NASCAR expressed a desire to transfer charters to other teams to move forward toward the 2026 Cup Series season.
NASCAR also stated in the contentious hearing that it no longer wants anything to do with 23XI Racing or Front Row Motorsports.
"NASCAR makes no admissions or concessions as to those issues by voluntarily agreeing to limit its lawful business conduct for the limited period of time prior to the completion of the trial," the document stated.
"Rather, NASCAR voluntarily takes these steps in response to the Court's stated request for a proposed temporary path forward pending trial and to address the Court's concerns about the potential for the creation of juror bias shortly prior to selecting a jury for trial. NASCAR prefers to focus on litigating the merits before the jury at trial."
NASCAR stated in Friday's document that this commitment makes the preliminary injunction request moot. NASCAR requested that the Court deny the preliminary injunction request and said that the teams face no "irreparable harm."
23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports could not file their response in separate documents. Instead, NASCAR's notice included a quote from the two teams, who will file a full response on Sept. 2.
"Plaintiffs have just received Defendants' position and due to the PACER maintenance understand Defendants are filing," 23XI/FRM stated in NASCAR's notice. "Plaintiffs do not agree that Defendants' notice and representations moot Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction.
"Plaintiffs further do not agree that Defendants' notice and representations demonstrate Plaintiffs face no irreparable harm."