Is Michael Jordan suing NASCAR? Here’s what the lawsuit is about ahead of Daytona 500

NASCAR kicks off its 2025 season with an ongoing lawsuit against Michael Jordan. Huh?

That’s right, the basketball GOAT (sorry, LeBron) in part of a class-action suit against the racing league after NASCAR took away the charter rights of his team, 23XI Racing. Don’t worry, though: His Airness’ team will still take part in the Daytona 500.

Jordan is seeking a better deal than NASCAR’s current system of chartered racing teams, or franchises. His 23XI Racing, which he co-owns with Denny Hamlin, is one of two teams challenging NASCAR in court.

Here’s what to know about the lawsuit, as well as how to watch the 2025 Daytona 500:

Does Michael Jordan have anything to do with NASCAR? What team does he own?

The six-time NBA champion and five-time MVP bought into NASCAR ownership on Sept. 21, 2020, announcing with three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin that they were starting a new racing team. The new 23XI Racing team obtained Germain Racing’s charter and began racing in the 2021 season. Its first driver was Bubba Wallace, the only Black driver in the NASCAR Cup Series.

This wasn’t Jordan’s first foray into auto racing. His AMA Pro Road Racing Championship team, Michael Jordan Motorsports, fielded racers from 2004-2013. His team won two American Superbike races at Daytona Bike Week in 2010.

“Growing up in North Carolina, my parents would take my brothers, sisters and me to races, and I’ve been a NASCAR fan my whole life,” Jordan said in 2020. “The opportunity to own my own racing team in partnership with my friend, Denny Hamlin, and to have Bubba Wallace driving for us, is very exciting for me.”

Is Michael Jordan suing NASCAR?

On Oct. 2, Michael Jordan’s team, 23XI Racing, filed an antitrust lawsuit with Front Row Motorsports against NASCAR in North Carolina federal court. The two teams were against the league’s new charter system that runs through a seven-year media rights deal that runs through 2031.

“I love the sport of racing and the passion of our fans, but the way NASCAR is run today is unfair to teams, drivers, sponsors and fans,” Jordan said in a statement. “Today’s action shows I’m willing to fight for a competitive market where everyone wins.”

Why is 23XI suing NASCAR?

The disagreement is over NASCAR’s charter system, which began in 2016. The system guarantees a team entry into each Cup Series race as well as a set portion of the purse. There are 36 charters in the Cup Series that are owned by 15 teams.

Those teams and NASCAR have been negotiating for years over new terms on an extension on that deal that kick in for 2025. 23XI and Front Row were the only ones who did not sign it as of the league’s deadline of Sept. 6.

In response, NASCAR pulled the teams’ charter extension offers for the 2025 season. That would essentially make them “open” teams, meaning their cars would have to earn a starting spot in each race through qualifying (rather than using them to simply determine their place in the starting grid). It would also mean they get a smaller piece of the weekly prize money and don’t qualify for other guaranteed funds available to chartered teams.

That led to 23XI and Front Row filing their antitrust lawsuit in October. They claim NASCAR has become a monopoly for stock car racing and that it has used “anticompetitive and exclusionary practices” to “enrich themselves at the expense of the premier stock car racing teams.” The lawsuit claims NASCAR’s charter agreement has unfair revenue distribution.

Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass lays the case out thusly: “They argue that because NASCAR owns the series and the majority of the tracks while also requiring the teams to purchase parts and pieces for their cars from a NASCAR-approved supplier, as well as prohibiting teams and tracks from participating in other racing (primarily stock-car racing) series without NASCAR’s approval, that they violate antitrust law by controlling the market where premier stock-car racing teams can compete.”

What NASCAR drivers are suing NASCAR?

The only driver directly involved in the lawsuit is Denny Hamlin, who is also part of the 23XI ownership group with Michael Jordan and Chris Polk. Hamlin doesn’t race on the 23XI team, though; he drives the No. 11 car for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Jordan’s team fielded two cars last year and adds a third for 2025. Here are the 23XI drivers:

What’s the status of Michael Jordan’s NASCAR lawsuit?

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell on Dec. 18 ruled in favor of 23XI and Front Row, granting their preliminary injunction request and allowing them to retain their charter status. NASCAR appealed the decision, and the U.S. Court of Appeals will hear the case at a later date.

After a hearing Jan. 8, Bell threw out NASCAR’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit. He also denied the league’s motion to require the teams post bond for any earnings they win this year in case they lose the lawsuit. A jury trial is set for Dec. 1.

When is Daytona 500 2025?

The 2025 Daytona 500 is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, February 16. Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick will have the call from the booth at Daytona International Speedway. Streaming options include Fubo, which offers a free trial for new subscribers.