Federal judge denies motion to recognize NASCAR teams as chartered organizations for next season

AVONDALE, Ariz. — A federal judge on Friday denied a motion by two NASCAR teams — one of them owned by Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan — to be recognized as chartered teams as they proceed with their antitrust lawsuit against the stock car series and chairman Jim France. “And we did that because the race teams were upside down financially.” The court decision came down just hours before Cup Series cars hit the track for the first practice session of championship weekend. 23XI Racing and Front Row accused NASCAR of being “monopolistic bullies” in forcing teams to into what is essentially a revenue-sharing agreement between the sanctioning body and its teams. In his ruling, the judge found that Kessler failed to demonstrate that 23XI and Front Row “will face irreparable harm through several avenues.” Kessler had argued the plaintiffs asserted they risk losing sponsors while competing as open teams because the sponsors “could abandon if they. Kessler also argued racing as open teams “could threaten continued existence” as both teams alleged they will lose substantial amounts of revenue without charters.