Judge Rules NASCAR Has Monopoly in Stock Car Racing

A federal judge in North Carolina has ruled that NASCAR holds monopoly power in the market for premier stock car racing, delivering a significant victory to 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports as their antitrust lawsuit against the sanctioning body heads to trial next month. The decision, issued on November 4, 2025, by U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell in the Western District of North Carolina, narrows the focus of the December 1 trial to whether NASCAR has used that power in anticompetitive ways to harm teams.

The ruling granted partial summary judgment to the plaintiffs, defining the relevant market as premier stock car racing and rejecting NASCAR's argument that teams could substitute participation in other motorsports like Formula 1 or IndyCar. Judge Bell noted that NASCAR's own counterclaim had previously described the market as entry into Cup Series races, stating that the organization could not redefine it to suit its defense. "NASCAR made a strategic decision in asserting its counterclaim and must now live with the consequences," Bell wrote. The judge also denied NASCAR's motion for summary judgment, which had sought dismissal on grounds including the statute of...