NASCAR Antitrust Case: Judge Rules on Discovery Material from Teams
On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth Bell granted NASCAR access to select discovery materials from teams not involved in the ongoing antitrust lawsuit brought by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports. The ruling follows NASCAR’s subpoena of 13 teams that signed the league’s charter agreement, seeking 11 years of financial data that includes revenue, expenses, and payments to employees and drivers.
While Kaulig Racing complied with the request, the remaining teams contested the subpoena, arguing it violates the charter agreement. Judge Bell, however, decided that only certain anonymized financial information would be disclosed, guiding how the details are to be handled.
Key Points from the Ruling:
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Independent Accounting Firm: By June 27, 2025, NASCAR and the involved teams must select a neutral accounting firm to manage the production of anonymized financial information.
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Financial Data Submission: Non-party teams are required to provide annual top-line financial data—including total revenue, costs, and net profits or losses—per car basis, covering the years since 2014. This must also account for sponsorship income.
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Relevance Restriction: Teams must limit the information shared to operations directly associated with competing in the Cup Series, excluding data related to ancillary business lines or non-Cup Series activities.
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Confidential Reporting: The accounting firm will produce a confidential spreadsheet detailing per-car averages, accessible to NASCAR but not to the non-party teams, with strict confidentiality measures in place.
- Cost Allocation: NASCAR will bear the cost of the accounting firm, while all parties are responsible for their own legal expenses.
Notably, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are the only teams that declined to sign the charter agreement, leading to the joint lawsuit filed in October. Mediation between the parties is scheduled for later this summer, with a trial date set for December 1.
