- 12 of 15 NASCAR teams say disclosing financial data to NASCAR threatens competitive balance and violates charter terms.
- Attorneys warn revealing salaries, sponsorships, and revenue would be devastating if leaked.
- Judge criticises the legal standoff but promises a ruling ahead of December’s antitrust trial.
Attorneys representing 12 of NASCAR’s 15 race teams argued in federal court Tuesday that handing over their financial records to the sanctioning body would be “absolutely devastating” and could damage the sport’s competitive integrity. The hearing, part of an ongoing antitrust case, highlighted a major divide between teams and NASCAR leadership as a bitter legal battle escalates.
The legal fight stems from a discovery dispute in the broader antitrust lawsuit brought by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports — the only two teams that declined to sign NASCAR’s latest charter agreement last September. The other 13 teams signed, but only Kaulig Racing has complied with NASCAR’s subpoena demanding detailed financial documentation.
The teams opposing disclosure argued that revealing sensitive data such as sponsorship deals, driver salaries, and internal expenditures would expose them to significant risk. “It would be absolutely devastating to these race teams if their competitors were able to find out sponsorships on the cars, driver salaries and all revenue streams,” said Adam Ross, attorney for the teams. “It cannot make its way into the public realm.”
Ross also said that NASCAR’s request — which includes 11 years of financials, emails, and even costs related to Hendrick Motorsports’ Garage 56 Le Mans project and Kyle Larson’s double duty in the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 — goes far beyond what’s reasonable. “NASCAR has gone a step too far,” he said.
NASCAR defended the request, saying it needs the data to determine whether the current charter system is financially sustainable for teams — a key issue in the antitrust case. The organisation promised to redact identifiable information, but team lawyers pushed back, arguing it would still be easy to trace contracts back to specific teams.
Judge Kenneth Bell, overseeing the case in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, appeared frustrated by both sides. “I am amazed at the effort going into burning this house down over everybody’s heads,” he said, before promising a ruling soon and reaffirming his commitment to overseeing the scheduled December trial.
The teams also expressed concern about being dragged into a fight they didn’t initiate. “This is the opposite of what they want — all the teams are torn to pieces that NASCAR wants them to disclose this information and they don’t want to upset NASCAR,” Ross told the court.
The current dispute is the latest flashpoint in a broader disagreement over the future of NASCAR’s business model. For years, teams have complained that the sport is not financially viable under the existing charter system. Talks aimed at reforming it collapsed last year, prompting 23XI Racing — co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin — and Front Row Motorsports to take legal action instead.
Charters, NASCAR’s version of a franchise agreement, guarantee entry to Cup Series races and a share of the sport’s revenue. However, they currently lack permanence and can be revoked, adding to team concerns over long-term investment stability.
Bell, while questioning NASCAR’s insistence on granular data, asked: “Why is [it] not enough to know it costs X to run a car?” He appeared unconvinced that full financial transparency was necessary for NASCAR to understand the viability issues being debated.
Just a day before the hearing, Bell refused to dismiss the teams’ motion to throw out NASCAR’s countersuit — one that accuses Jordan’s longtime business manager Curtis Polk of “cartel-like” tactics during the charter negotiations. That claim adds further complexity to what is already shaping up to be one of the most consequential legal disputes in NASCAR’s modern era.
A final ruling on the disclosure dispute is expected soon, with both sides bracing for a December showdown in court.
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