Michael Jordan‘s racing staff is suing NASCAR and its CEO, Jim France … alleging the man and his group are “monopolistic bullies.”
His Airness’ 23XI Racing — together with Entrance Row Motorsports — filed the lawsuit in federal court docket in North Carolina on Wednesday … after the 2 groups say they refused to signal up to date pacts with NASCAR over “unfair terms.”
Within the swimsuit, the groups mentioned they wished extra when it got here time to increase their constitution agreements past 2024 — particularly, an even bigger piece of the income pie — however France and NASCAR would not budge.
In the end, they alleged the org. pressured them into agreeing to a “take-it-or-leave-it” provide that if they didn’t acquiesce to, they might threat dropping their charters sooner or later.
As a substitute of signing on, the 2 groups filed their swimsuit this week with the hopes {that a} choose would intervene … and concern an injunction that might enable them to compete within the 2025 season with out releasing their antitrust claims by placing pen to France’s paper.
Finally, they mentioned within the swimsuit, they need to stymie France and NASCAR’s “unlawful monopoly power.”
“I love the sport of racing and the passion of our fans,” Jordan mentioned of the lawsuit in an announcement, “but the way NASCAR is run today is unfair to teams, drivers, sponsors, and fans. Today’s action shows I’m willing to fight for a competitive market where everyone wins.”
Added Jordan’s 23XI Racing co-owner, Denny Hamlin, “When I look around, I see that the best and most competitive sports in the world understand that when teams thrive, fans benefit, and that everyone who invests in making the sport a success should share fairly in that success. With the right changes, we can certainly make that a reality in racing.”
Jordan and Hamlin based 23XI Racing again in 2020. Their high drivers embody Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick.
France and NASCAR, in the meantime, haven’t but commented on the swimsuit.
