“Judge could rip up charter agreement”: Insider warns of ‘domino effect’ that could reshape NASCAR after antitrust lawsuit battle

NASCAR insider Jordan Bianchi warns the governing body amid the ongoing antitrust lawsuit with 23XI Racing. During the latest episode of The Kenny Wallace Show, Bianchi noted that the court could eliminate the charter system.

Recent hearings highlight that the court could "rip up" the agreement and force the sanctioning body to redesign the system from scratch. If this happens, the teams involved in the agreement will lose their assets. The sponsors and TV contracts would be affected if the charter agreement were designed from scratch.

Following that, NASCAR analyst Jordan Bianchi explained how this would start a "domino effect" and told Wallace:

"The judge could theoretically rip up the charter agreement. Now, he may institute some other level of a charter system, but if you just scrap those charter systems, you're going to have to start from scratch. And then, if that's the case, the teams that have paid many millions of dollars for charters would theoretically be out that money."

"And, you know, that could potentially impact TV contracts because how are those written? And that kind of thing. So there are all sorts of different dominoes on how this would fall," he concluded.

The Athletic journalist further pointed out that if the Cup Series teams 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports lose, they would be out of business. The teams would be out of six charters; however, they would be reimbursed for that.

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NASCAR unveils the full-time schedule for the 2026 season

In November 2025, NASCAR announced the schedule for the upcoming Cup Series season. The 2026 season will feature two additional races, along with a change in venue for the Championship 4 race from Phoenix Raceway to Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The Athletic media house made the Cup Series schedule public for the fans to follow, and here's the list of the events:

• Feb. 1: Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium
• Feb. 15: Daytona 500
• Feb. 22: Atlanta (EchoPark)
• Mar. 1: Circuit of the Americas
• Mar. 8: Phoenix
• Mar. 15: Las Vegas
• Mar. 22: Darlington
• Mar. 29: Martinsville
• Apr. 5: Off (Easter)
• Apr. 12: Bristol
• Apr. 19: Kansas
• Apr. 26: Talladega
• May 3: Texas
• May 10: Watkins Glen
• May 17: All-Star Race (Dover)
• May 24: Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte)
• May 31: Nashville
• Jun. 7: Michigan
• Jun. 14: Pocono
• Jun. 21: San Diego (Naval Base Coronado)
• Jun. 28: Sonoma
• Jul. 5: Chicagoland
• Jul. 12: Atlanta (EchoPark)
• Jul. 19: North Wilkesboro
• Jul. 26: Brickyard 400 (Indianapolis)
• Aug. 2: Off weekend
• Aug. 9: Iowa
• Aug. 15: Richmond
• Aug. 23: New Hampshire
• Aug. 29: Daytona (regular-season finale)
• Sept. 6: Darlington (playoff opener)
• Sept. 13: Gateway
• Sept. 19: Bristol (Round 1 elimination)
• Sept. 27: Kansas
• Oct. 4: Las Vegas
• Oct. 11: Charlotte Roval (Round 2 elimination)
• Oct. 18: Phoenix
• Oct. 25: Talladega
• Nov. 1: Martinsville (Round 3 elimination)
• Nov. 8: Homestead (Championship Race)

The #5 Chevy Camaro ZL1 driver, Kyle Larson, clinched his second NASCAR Cup Series championship victory at Phoenix Raceway this season. He outperformed Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin in the closing laps of the 319 laps and claimed the championship title.