High-profile witnesses such as championship winning team owners Roger Penske and Rick Hendrick were expected to testify on Monday, December 8, but the NASCAR Trial over anti-trust violations has bogged down to a frustrating pace.
According to the Associated Press, Monday’s proceedings got off to a delay because U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell had to open early to address a list of motions that were filed over the weekend. Those included objections he received at 2:55 a.m. Eastern Time Monday and 6:40 a.m. ET before the morning session was scheduled to begin. Bell took one hour to address the rules with testimony putting the start of testimony 30 minutes later.
Bell is not happy with the current pace of the trial and has requested both 23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports and NASCAR to pick up the pace.
Jeffrey Kessler is the lead attorney for the two teams suing NASCAR and told the court he plans to call NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps to the stand followed by NASCAR Hall of Fame team owner Richard Childrees and NASCAR Chairman Jim France.
Jonathan Marshall, the executive director of the Race Team alliance, a formal organization meant to represent all of the teams, finished his testimony before the break of the day.
According to The AP, Marshall testified that a week before teams were given the take-it-or-leave-it final offer, a first version of the agreement was presented and team owners Joe Gibbs, Rick Hendrick and Roger Penske all indicated they planned to sign.
Marshall relayed that information to the other NASCAR teams, and he testified he believed all other team owners would follow the trio.
“There was a lot of discussion that these three men had been speaking to Jim France, trying to get accommodations on issues and it was clear it wasn’t going to happen,” Marshall said. “These were very friendly team owners with the France’s, in some cases over 50 years. Once those three signed, no one felt a better deal would be available.”
Richard Childress Expected To Take The Stand In NASCAR Trial
When Childress takes the stand, it will certainly generated tremendous attention after text messages entered in court included Phelps calling the six-time NASCAR Cup Series championship owner a “stupid redneck who owes his entire fortune to NASCAR” and “needs to be taken out back and flogged.”
Those fiery texts were released during the discovery phase of the legal battle.
There is no set date for Childress to take the stand in court, but attorney Shannon McMinimee, who has been following the 23XI-NASCAR trial closely, expects the 80-year-old to appear in the courtroom soon.
NBA and University of North Carolina basketball legend Michael Jordan is the co-owner of 23XI Racing along with NASCAR star Denny Hamlin. Front Row Motorsports has joined 23XI Racing as the plaintiffs in an antitrust lawsuit on allegations the sanctioning body operates as an unlawful monopoly.
NASCAR submitted its witness list before Phelps’s comments were unsealed.
NASCAR is unlikely to call Childress, but it has presented a great opportunity to the plaintiffs. If called by the teams rather than NASCAR, Childress could provide testimony that validates their core grievances about the charter system and NASCAR’s negotiating tactics.
Childress plays a unique role in the trial. He signed the 2025 charter agreement, unlike the plaintiff teams.
But after the text exchanges were revealed, Childress is furious and is considering further legal action.
NASCAR States Its Case Why It Has A Competitive System With Charter Agreement
NASCAR was founded in 1948 by the France family of Daytona Beach, Florida and believes it has not violated antitrust laws. NASCAR also believes its Charter negotiations were a “standard commercial practice”, and the 2025 agreement increased the payouts to the teams. Also, by allowing teams to compete as “open” entries (teams without a Charter), is proof the system is not anti-competitive.
NASCAR also has declarations from Hendrick and Penske indicating they do not want the Charter model ended.
Penske tried to set his court appearance schedule by telling NASCAR he was only available to testify Monday, but the plaintiffs objected to Penske being called in the middle of their presentation, according to AP.
Bell sided with 23XI Racing and Front Row and told NASCAR to work it out with Penske, who as owner of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar, which recently adopted its charter system, can testify to race sanctioning agreements, the revenue models and financial health of race teams.
Hendrick has been a close friend of the France family for decades and is one of the leading car salesmen in the United States with Hendrick Motorsports. NASCAR believes Hendrick can support the theory everyone in racing understands the financials and willingly enters into NASCAR and the France’s business model.
During Jordan’s testimony on Friday, December 5, he indicated NASCAR is “run by a family of dictators enriching themselves at the expense of the teams and drivers,” Jenna Fryer of the Associated Press reported.
NASCAR wanted to settle the case. Front Row and 23XI Racing want a combined $340 million in damages, but Jordan has said previously he is open to a settlement. Mediation attempts were unable to find a solution, and the lawsuit is now being heard in a jury trial.
