NASCAR Pauses Charter Sales During Antitrust Lawsuit

NASCAR told a federal court on Friday it will not sell, transfer or otherwise redistribute disputed charters while an antitrust lawsuit brought by two race teams proceeds, offering a temporary pause to a contentious legal battle that has threatened to reshape the sport. The filing in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina came a day after a heated hearing in which 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports urged a judge to restore six charters they say were effectively taken from them.

In a written notice, NASCAR said it will not "issue, sell, convey, or lease any additional Charters for the 2025 Cup Series season" and will not sell, convey or lease more than four additional charters for the 2026 season. The sanctioning body also said it would not effectuate sales or leases of certain inactive charters and pledged to leave in place a recent rule guaranteeing the two teams race entry as open competitors while the litigation continues. NASCAR characterized the commitments as voluntary and said they were made so the organization could focus on growing the sport for 2026 and preparing for the December trial.

The underlying lawsuit, filed by 23XI Racing,...