23XI, Front Row, and NASCAR reach agreement on three preliminary rules for the trial

The lawsuit between NASCAR, 23XI Racing, and Front Row Motorsports has taken a new turn. The Cup Series teams and governing body have agreed on some ground rules before the lawsuit is set to go to trial by the end of this year.

The situation arose when 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports refused to sign the new charter agreement last year. The teams claimed that the governing body's CEO, Jim France, has been creating a monopoly in the sport. The lawsuit has had multiple hearings, and the court stripped the teams of their charters this year.

However, 23XI Racing and FRM refused to give up and want to take the lawsuit to trial. Following that, the trio mutually agreed to three preliminary rules on Monday, October 27. The rules stated (via Motorsports.com):

The Parties will not make any ad hominem personal attacks or otherwise denigrate counsel at trial, including specifically through attacks on counsel’s role in the litigation.

The Parties will not refer to or discuss prior cases where counsel for the Parties served in opposition to one another, including but not limited to N. Am. Soccer League LLC v. United States Soccer Fed’n, Inc., 1:17-cv-05495 (E.D.N.Y.), Relevent Sports, LLC v. United States Soccer Federation Inc., No. 1:19-cv-08359 (S.D.N.Y), and Shields et al. v. Fédération Internationale de Natation, Case No. 3:18-cv-07393-JSC (N.D. Cal.)

The Parties will not refer to the allegations in the second sentence of Paragraph 65 of Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint regarding former NASCAR executive Brian France or the alleged circumstances surrounding Brian France’s departure from NASCAR.

NASCAR has filled in the instructions for the jury, while 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports have yet to do the same. The lawsuit between the governing body and the Cup Series team is set to go on trial on December 1, 2025.

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“We didn’t ask for this”: NASCAR president got candid about the ongoing lawsuit between the sanctioning body and 23XI Racing

In August 2025, the governing body's president, Steve O'Donnell, was featured in an episode of the Out of the Groove podcast with NASCAR YouTuber Eric Esteep. During the podcast, O'Donnell shared his perspective on 23XI Racing and FRM's lawsuit against the stock car racing association.

The NASCAR president pointed out that he was "disappointed" with the teams for refusing to sign the charter agreement. Reflecting on the same, he stated:

"I can't get into the specifics, right, of the litigation, but, uh, it's important that, uh, I think everyone knows, you know, the teams—the team sued us, right? We didn't ask for this. Um, we're still not sure what they're even asking for. Um, candidly, in terms of an outcome, what we've seen really doesn't have anything to do with why the lawsuit was brought. So it's a little bit perplexing." [33:50 onwards]

The lawsuit affected Bubba Wallace driving the #23 Toyota, Tyler Reddick piloting the #45 Camry, and Riley Herbst in the #35 Toyota. Followed by Todd Gilliland, Zane Smith, and Noah Gragson from Front Row Motorsports.