NASCAR Day 4 trial update: Judge Bell cautions both sides as trial drags, warns of possible Jury revolt

Day 4 of the ongoing NASCAR trial is finally over. Things got stretched to the point where United States District Judge Kenneth D. Bell had to issue a warning to both NASCAR and the Plaintiffs to pick up the pace. He stated that a trial like this should end within three weeks.

If that doesn’t happen, Bell warned that the jury could revolt. So, he urged all parties to respond faster to questions and refrain from denying obvious facts.

Now it all depends on how the jury felt each side came out last Thursday. Renowned NASCAR journalist Toby Christie took to X (formerly known as Twitter) and reported the matter. He wrote,

“Judge Bell has issued a warning to both sides to pick up the pace. The trial cannot drag to three weeks long, or the jury will revolt. He says both sides need to instruct their witnesses to just quickly answer hard questions instead of trying to deny obvious facts, and that exhibits need to stop beating horses past their death date.”

NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell went toe-to-toe with 23XI attorney Jeffrey Kessler, doing everything he could to bring the ball to their court. Surprisingly, O’Donnell didn’t disagree when Kessler called NASCAR a monopoly.

O'Donnell did say that 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports could compete as non-charter teams in 2026 and still get the guaranteed purse money. However, Kessler argued that chartered teams receive way more money than non-charter teams.

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Denny Hamlin calls NASCAR’s charter agreement his “death certificate”

Denny Hamlin complained about NASCAR’s alleged no-win revenue model. Mentioning how he had spent more than $700,000 to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2022 alone, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver said that signing the deal would have been like signing his own death warrant.

In total, there were a minimum of eight points that needed to be addressed back when NASCAR asked the teams to sign the charter agreement, as stated by Hamlin. No negotiations were entertained by the governing officials at the time.

"I didn't sign because I knew this was my death certificate for the future," Hamlin said in a statement. "I have spent 20 years trying to make this sport grow as a driver and for the last five years as a team owner. 23XI is doing our part. You can't have someone treat you this unfairly and I knew It wasn't right. They were wrong and someone needed to be held accountable."

The trial will continue for the next six days. The racing action will return on February 1, 2026, with the Cook Out Clash at Winston-Salem’s Bowman Gray Stadium. Fans can watch it live on FOX (starting at 8 pm ET) or listen to exclusive radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.