Legal expert explains why Jim France could personally owe millions in NASCAR vs. 23XI, FRM antitrust trial

Legal expert Shannon McMinimee claims that Jim France could be liable for damages if found guilty in the antitrust trial. According to McMinimee, France is also named as a 'defendant in his personal capacity.'

As NASCAR's CEO, France led the 2025 charter negotiations. The trial has revealed that the charter deal was presented with a one-day deadline in a 'take it or leave it' approach.

Moreover, the sanctioning body was prepared to go through with a 'Gold Codes' agreement if the teams didn't end up signing. It was NASCAR's failsafe plan to own all the teams and hire the drivers themselves.

After a week of trial proceedings, France has emerged as the central figure. McMinimee delved into the matter in an X post, writing,

"Jim France is already named as a defendant in his personal capacity. The case is actually 23XI and FRM v. NASCAR and James France. NASCAR is a corporate entity that Jim France leads as both the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors."

"I would expect that he was named personally so that NASCAR as an entity could not claim that Jim France made decisions personally that NASCAR as an entity should not be held responsible for. If the jury determines that Jim France individually engaged in conduct that violates the Sherman Act, he personally could be responsible for paying monetary damages and attorneys’ fees."

Shannon McMinimee

@SMMcMinimee

@Team54Zach @PullmannRacing @JohnnyGB412 I love being summoned. Jim France is already named as a defendant in his personal capacity. The case is actually 23XI and FRM v. NASCAR and James France. NASCAR is a corporate entity that Jim France leads as both the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors. I would expect that

The 81-year-old was also responsible for removing the 'three strike' rule, a provision that allowed a team to oppose NASCAR's decisions that increased their costs. The move was apparently done to allow racing in Mexico and Chicago, a key condition for signing with Amazon Prime's coverage.

However, the two races have only incurred losses for the league. During his witness testimony, Denny Hamlin shared that the Mexico City race placed undue financial pressure on 23XI's bottom line.

Monday's trial proceedings featured an economics expert's testimony, during which NASCAR was hit with estimated damages of $365 million.

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NASCAR president deflects on calling Jim France a 'dictator'

When NASCAR president Steve O'Donnell was called to testify, his personal text messages came to light. One accused the NASCAR CEO of acting like a dictator during charter negotiations.

23XI and FRM's attorney, Jefferey Kessler, called attention to the matter, but O'Donnell did not provide a straight answer. NASCAR reporter Matt Weaver shared the exchange on X, writing,

"Kessler asked what OD meant by 'dictator' in the following now-discovered text message referring to Jim France's negotiation approach? "Close to a comfortable 1996, f*ck the teams, dictatorship, motorsport, redneck, southern, tiny sport."

"It could be anyone," replied O'Donnell.

After further prodding, O'Donnell shared that he was 'frustrated' at the time and had tried to get the team's message across.