Plaintiffs rest case in NASCAR antitrust lawsuit

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Cross examination of NASCAR chairman and CEO Jim France ended Wednesday in Charlotte, and the plaintiffs in the federal antitrust lawsuit concluded their case.

Front Row Motorsports and 23XI Racing, the latter team co-owned by NBA legend Michael Jordan and driver Denny Hamlin, are suing NASCAR, alleging monopolist practices. The plaintiffs have accused NASCAR of employing anti-competitive tactics to pressure teams into compliance. The two suing teams were the only ones that didn’t agree to NASCAR’s charter terms.

Continuing his theme from Tuesday, France was adamant that race teams could not be given permanent charters.

“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,” he said.

France added: “I don’t know how you can set anything in this changing world we’re in as permanent. I’m just not comfortable making agreements that go on forever.”

The first defense witness called was NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer John Probst. He testified that the circuit spent $14 million to develop the Next Gen car that is standard for all NASCAR teams, though the teams weren’t involved in the undertaking.

The plaintiffs’ attorney, Jeffrey Kessler, questioned whether the Next Gen car could be used in a competing series.

“All they have to do is ask,” Probst said, according to The Athletic. “No one has asked.”

NASCAR’s financial and tax situation was addressed by chief financial officer Greg Motto. He mentioned that a lot of the payments to the circuit’s two owners — family trusts overseen by France and his niece, Lesa France Kennedy — were used to pay NASCAR’s taxes.

Dr. Mark Zmijewski, a corporate economics expert, took the stand for the defense and disputed the findings presented previously by a defense expert in the same field, Dr. Edward Snyder.

–Field Level Media