Bubba Wallace Lawsuit: From Antitrust Trial to Settlement Terms

The Bubba Wallace lawsuit is shorthand for the federal antitrust case his team, 23XI Racing, brought against NASCAR in October 2024. Wallace was not a plaintiff, but as the driver of the team’s No. 23 Toyota, his career and paycheck sat squarely inside the dispute. The case, 2311 Racing LLC v. National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC, settled during trial on December 11, 2025, and reshaped how NASCAR shares revenue and grants charters.¹

Who Sued Whom, and Why

23XI Racing, co-owned by Michael Jordan, Denny Hamlin, and Curtis Polk, joined with Front Row Motorsports to file suit against NASCAR, NASCAR Holdings, NASCAR Event Management, and Chairman and CEO Jim France on October 2, 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. The case was assigned to Judge Kenneth D. Bell.²³

The trigger was the 2025 charter agreement. NASCAR’s charter system, introduced in 2016, gives Cup teams guaranteed starting spots and a base share of revenue, but charters expire, and every renewal cycle puts teams back at the negotiating table. After more than two years of talks led by a “Teams Negotiating Committee” chaired by Polk, NASCAR presented a 112-page final agreement in September 2024. Thirteen of the fifteen charter-holding organizations signed. 23XI and Front Row refused, objecting to revenue sharing they considered inadequate, the lack of permanent charters, and a clause requiring teams to waive the right to sue NASCAR.⁴

Their complaint alleged that NASCAR violated Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act by monopolizing premier stock car racing. Specific claims targeted NASCAR’s 2019 acquisition of International Speedway Corporation and its 13 major tracks, exclusivity deals that kept those tracks from hosting rival series, the mandatory proprietary “Next Gen” car, and broadened non-compete language in the 2025 charter that would bar teams from competing in any non-NASCAR automobile or truck racing.⁵

NASCAR responded that the teams had “squandered” chances to sign, that its payouts exceeded Formula 1’s on a percentage basis, and that no court could force a private company into a partnership it did not want.⁴

How the Lawsuit Threatened Wallace’s Ride

Wallace and teammate Tyler Reddick had contract clauses requiring 23XI to field them in chartered entries. When the team refused to sign the 2025 charter, that guarantee evaporated. Reddick formally notified 23XI that it had 30 days to assure him of a chartered car or he would treat himself as free to leave.⁶

Judge Bell granted a preliminary injunction in December 2024 that let 23XI and Front Row race as chartered teams while the case moved forward, citing the risk of irreparable harm if the team lost Wallace and Reddick. A Fourth Circuit panel vacated that injunction on June 5, 2025, holding that antitrust law did not support forcing a monopolist to drop a release-of-claims provision as a condition of doing business.⁷ From mid-July through the end of the 2025 season, 23XI and Front Row ran as “open” teams: no guaranteed starting spots, and less than a third of the revenue chartered teams received.⁸

Wallace later said the uncertainty weighed on 23XI employees who faced a “big unknown” about whether the organization might be “shutting doors down,” yet kept building “us the fastest race cars to the best of their abilities.”⁹

The Trial

Trial began on December 1, 2025. Before jury selection, Judge Bell had already ruled that NASCAR constitutes a monopoly in premier stock car racing, leaving the jury to decide whether NASCAR maintained that monopoly through illegal conduct and, if so, what damages the teams were owed.²

Michael Jordan testified on December 5. He told the court he felt he had “little choice” but to sue: “Someone had to step forward and challenge the entity.” He said he had sat in meetings with longtime team owners who had been “brow-beaten for so many years” and believed that as a newer owner he could challenge the structure “as a whole.” Jordan confirmed he owns 60% of 23XI and had invested between $35 million and $40 million in the team, including a $28 million charter purchase in late 2024.¹⁰

Denny Hamlin, who co-owns 23XI while still driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, called the proposed 2025 charter a “death certificate” for his business. He testified that Cup teams collectively lost $88 million in 2024 and said he did not believe 23XI would survive ten years under the agreement’s terms.¹¹ NASCAR’s attorney pressed him on his $14 million driver salary, his 40% stake in 23XI, and the fact that 23XI itself required its drivers to sign exclusivity agreements while challenging NASCAR’s exclusivity clauses.¹²

Front Row owner Bob Jenkins told the court that despite winning the 2021 Daytona 500, he had never turned a profit since launching his team in the early 2000s, estimating cumulative losses of $100 million. He also alleged that NASCAR delivered the final charter document at 6 p.m. on a Friday with a midnight cutoff, a timeline he said was designed to prevent legal review.¹³

The teams’ economist, Dr. Edward Snyder, calculated damages of $215.8 million for 23XI and $148.9 million for Front Row, totaling $364.7 million, a figure he called “conservative.” His model compared NASCAR’s roughly 25% team share of revenue to Formula 1’s roughly 45% share.¹⁴ Internal NASCAR communications also surfaced. Commissioner Steve Phelps had written that early proposals offered “zero wins for the teams,” and President Steve O’Donnell had described an early charter draft as reflecting a “dictatorship” mentality.¹⁵

The Settlement Terms

On December 11, 2025, the ninth day of trial, the parties announced a settlement and Judge Bell dismissed the jury. The agreement reshaped the economics and governance of the Cup Series in several ways.¹

All 36 Cup Series charters became “evergreen.” NASCAR can no longer cancel or decline to renew the charter system at the end of an agreement period, and renewals require a two-thirds vote of teams.¹⁶
The six charters previously held by 23XI and Front Row were restored, along with back pay for the 2025 season the teams had run as open entries.¹⁶
Teams secured a share of NASCAR’s international media rights, which they had previously received nothing from, plus a one-third portion of revenue from new business deals involving team intellectual property.¹
NASCAR agreed to pay an undisclosed sum in damages to 23XI and Front Row.¹
A “five-strike rule” allows teams to compete in rival series if NASCAR makes rule changes costing teams significant money without their approval. Five such strikes over six years voids the exclusivity clause.¹⁷
Teams gained a formal voice in NASCAR’s decision-making process.¹⁸

NASCAR distributed the new charter agreements to its 16 charter-owning organizations during the week of January 22, 2026, giving teams 14 days to sign or remain under the prior version. The case was officially dismissed on February 4, 2026.¹⁹²⁰

Where Wallace Stands Now

Wallace called the settlement a “monumental day” on social media.²¹ Speaking publicly about the case without restriction for the first time, he said, “It’s nice to be able to talk about freely, right?” He described the resolution as a moment where “both sides were able to come together and make changes for the sport” and a “massive sigh of relief” for 23XI employees. “If we have to ruffle some feathers, then so be it,” he added.⁹

Wallace continues to drive the No. 23 Toyota for 23XI Racing. Through 17 races in 2026 he sat 13th in the Cup standings with 394 points.²² In May 2026, The Coca-Cola Company joined 23XI as the exclusive beverage partner for Wallace and the No. 23 team.²⁰

1
The New York Times. NASCAR Settlement With 23XI, Front Row: Details
2
Fox Sports. What to Know About the NASCAR Antitrust Lawsuit
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CourtListener. 2311 Racing LLC v. National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC
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ESPN. NASCAR Says Antitrust Suit Forcing Permanent Charter
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Courthouse News Service. NASCAR Antitrust Complaint
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Courthouse News Service. NASCAR Bell Stay Denial
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Justia. 2311 Racing LLC v. National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC
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Jayski. More Developments in 23XI Racing-Front Row Motorsports Lawsuit Against NASCAR
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Yahoo Sports. Bubba Wallace Addresses Antitrust Lawsuit
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CNN. Michael Jordan Testifies at NASCAR Antitrust Trial
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Autoweek. Denny Hamlin NASCAR Antitrust Testimony
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Courthouse News Service. Racing Teams Scrutinize NASCAR Exec Texts in Antitrust Trial
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ESPN. Front Row’s Jenkins: NASCAR Deliberately Rushed Charter Deal
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RACER. 23XI, Front Row Should Be Awarded More Than $360 Million, Economist Testifies
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ESPN. Fiery Texts Between Michael Jordan, NASCAR Execs Revealed at Hearing
16
Jayski. What’s in the Lawsuit Settlement
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Fox Sports. What’s Next: NASCAR Antitrust Lawsuit Over, Questions Linger
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NASCAR. NASCAR Lawsuit Settlement: 23XI, Front Row
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Daily Downforce. NASCAR Settlement Update: Teams Issued New Charter Agreements
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Jayski. 23XI Racing Team News
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On3. Bubba Wallace Reacts to Monumental Settlement in NASCAR Antitrust Trial
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ESPN. Bubba Wallace Race Results