Jim France, Chairman and CEO of NASCAR, finished his testimony in the antitrust trial happening in Charlotte. Right after that, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports ended their side of the case. This is a major moment in a legal fight that focuses on control and how much money teams can make.
According to Heavy, the two teams claim NASCAR’s charter system and strict rules about parts and spending have stopped them from running a stable business. Experts working for the teams say the damages for just these two teams add up to more than $364 million. This massive number shows how badly team owners want stable business conditions.
One major issue in the trial is the charter system. France was questioned about why he turned down requests from big owners like Joe Gibbs, Rick Hendrick, Jack Roush, and Roger Penske last year to make charters permanent. His response was simple: he cannot promise something that lasts forever. France told the jury he could not guarantee permanent charters because no contract could cover everything for all time.
France won’t commit to promises he might break later
He said he refuses to make a promise today that he might not keep tomorrow because he cannot see into the future. France stated, “I don’t have a sightline to the future, and I don’t feel comfortable making a promise I don’t know if I can keep.” While his concern about the future makes sense, teams argue that without permanent charters, they cannot get the best value or secure long-term investments.
France also defended NASCAR’s move toward standardized parts from single sources, which has been a big complaint about team spending. He said that years ago, when he visited race shops, he was shocked to see they had become full manufacturing operations.
France believes this constant parts development created unnecessary costs and pushed NASCAR toward the standardized Next Gen car. Similar disputes over organizational control have emerged in other sports, including accusations against WWE’s leadership structure.
NASCAR executive John Probst supported this view in his testimony. He said NASCAR spent $14 million to develop the Next Gen platform. Probst compared protecting the car’s design to how Coca-Cola guards its secret recipe. This shows how much control NASCAR wants to keep over its intellectual property.
The trial also examined NASCAR’s financial structure and France’s influence. Attorney Jeffrey Kessler asked France about financial decisions and his power over charter terms. NASCAR is completely owned by two France-Kennedy family trusts, with France holding most of the stake. France earned $3.5 million last year but could not remember details about hundreds of millions in family trust distributions between 2021 and 2024.
After France’s testimony ended, NASCAR began presenting its defense witnesses. Chief Financial Officer Greg Motto explained the family distributions were mainly for tax requirements because NASCAR operates as an S-Corp. Motto rejected the claim that NASCAR could afford the much higher charter payments teams want.
Legal battles involving athletes and organizations often reveal unexpected evidence, as seen when body cam footage contradicted assault allegations. Corporate expert Dr. Mark Zmijewski testified that the financial model used to calculate lost value did not match NASCAR’s actual financial data.
Published: Dec 11, 2025 04:45 pm