NASCAR Driver, Team Owner Grilled On Antitrust Claims at Trial

Race car driver Denny Hamlin faced intense questioning Tuesday over his public praise of NASCAR even as he pursues a lawsuit that the group’s charter system harms competition.

During the second day of a trial in Charlotte, N.C., a NASCAR lawyer homed in on Hamlin’s positive public comments about the racing organization as inconsistent with claims brought by 23XI, a racing team controlled by Hamlin, basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, and business partner Curtis Polk.

NASCAR attorney Larry Buterman asked why Hamlin praised the charter system as a key reason for going into business with Jordan on the 23XI team if the agreements were anticompetitive.

Charters guarantee racing slots in the elite Cup Series, along with revenue from races. 23XI Racing and another team, Front Row Motorsports Inc., sued NASCAR last year, seeking more than $200 million in damages.

Hamlin defended himself, saying as a owner of the team, he wants to “paint a great picture that everything is fine,” or risk the possibility of a “tongue-lashing” and retaliation from NASCAR.

“Did I hear you say that we can’t trust what you say publicly?” Buterman countered.

The case centers on claims that NASCAR’s charter deals with teams contained anticompetitive restrictions designed to help the organization maintain its monopoly position. Charters are assets that can be bought, sold or leased by teams.

Trial Timing

One alleged restriction prohibits chartered teams and their owners from competing in any other stock car racing event not authorized by NASCAR. 23XI and Front Row declined to sign renewed charter agreements last year and sued instead. A trial began Monday in the US District Court for the Western District of North Carolina after settlement talks fell apart.

Hamlin said that a lawsuit was the only path forward, adding that the renewed agreement with NASCAR was “absolutely unfair” and didn’t help cover the operating costs of a team. The renewed agreement also took away 23XI’s intellectual property rights, left no room for negotiation, and didn’t address any of the team’s concerns including needed protections regarding decisions by NASCAR to increase fees to compete in the Cup Series, Hamlin said.

“I know what they did was wrong,” Hamlin said. “It’s time for change. I have spent 20 years to promote change in this sport to make it grow.”

Hamlin is a three-time Daytona 500 winner as a driver and in 2023 was named to NASCAR’s list of its 75 Greatest Drivers of all time.

Buterman, a partner with Latham & Watkins LLP, also challenged Hamlin’s business acumen, including a decision to build a $35 million race car facility for 23XI decked out with Jordan’s signature elephant print design pattern, as well as windows in every room angled at 23 degrees, a nod to Jordan’s basketball number.

“NASCAR did not tell you to put up this facility,” Buterman said.

Hamlin said the price of the building—originally about $9 million—rose in part due to post-Covid inflation.

‘We Are Not a Monopoly—You Are”

Buterman also questioned why 23XI pays its drivers a smaller percentage of revenue than what NASCAR pays the teams.

Hamlin said that wasn’t an “apples to apples” comparison, adding that drivers have options, unlike the teams that must bend to the will of NASCAR. “We are not a monopoly—you are,” Hamlin shot back.

Buterman noted that messages revealed in discovery show that Polk, a 23XI co-owner, had concerns about Hamlin’s spending.

Hamlin said it’s Polk’s job to “keep us in check” and that the goal for Hamlin is to win, so of course he’s going to ask “for the moon.”

“And NASCAR has to pay because you want the moon?” Buterman said.

The team plaintiffs are represented by Winston & Strawn LLP. NASCAR is also represented by Alston & Bird LLP. Judge Kenneth D. Bell is presiding.

The case is 2311 Racing LLC v. NASCAR, W.D.N.C., No. 3:24-cv-00886, 12/2/25.