DURAMDOVER – NASCAR Racing team owner Denny Hamlin was not deceived after another setback in court, vowing to “all be exposed” in the scheduled December trial as part of 23xi Racing's federal antitrust antitrust targeting automatic racing series.
A federal judge on Thursday rejected 23XI racing and front-row motorsports requests to continue racing against the charter while fighting NASCAR in court, meaning their six cars will be part of the open entrants in Dover this weekend, and next week's Open in Indianapolis, perhaps longer than the team, they will put them at risk of escaping business.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell denied the team’s bid for the temporary restraining order, saying they will race in the next few weeks and they will not lose drivers or sponsors until the preliminary injunction is decided.
If something changes happen in the next two weeks, Bell opens up the possibility of reconsidering his decision.
After this weekend, if 41 entries are listed, the affected cars may need to be eligible for speed qualifying – now the starting point is open.
The trial date for the case is December 1, but the two teams are fighting to be considered a franchise for the season with 16 games left. The charter guarantees one of the 40 attractions per week, but also the base amount to be paid per week.
“If you want answers, you want to understand why this happens, by December 1, you’ll get the answers you need,” Hamlin said on Saturday at Dover Motor Speedway. “Everything will be exposed.”
23XI is co-owned by retired NBA Great Jordan, and FRM is a federal lawsuit filed last year against NASCAR because they are the only two of the 15 organizations that rejected NASCAR's expansion offer on Charters.
Jordan and FRM boss Bob Jenkins won a ban to admit that the season's 23XI and FRM were rented, but the appeal was overturned earlier this month, sending the case back to Bale.
Hamlin, the three-time Daytona 500 champion of Joe Gibbs racing, shares 23xis with Jordan and says they are ready to send Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace and Riley Herbst to the track. They sought a restraining order on Monday, claiming that by discovering, they learned that NASCAR planned to immediately start the process of selling six charters that would put “the plaintiffs in irreparable dangers, never put their charts back and collapse.”
Hamlin said no setback led him to speculate on the decision to file a lawsuit for a second time.
“December 1 is crucial. Mark your calendar,” Hamlin said. “I'd love to do other things. I have a lot to do. When I get in the car (today), there's nothing else to do. I'm always 100% giving my team. I'm always ready if I have auxiliary work, companionship, more kids, more kids, and it's all important, but I always need to make sure I always make sure I step in and I step into my 100% of my.”
Reddick has a clause that he can become a free agent even if the team loses the charter, and he declined to comment on all issues related to his future and litigation on Saturday. Hamlin also declined comments about Reddick's future in 23XI racing.
Reddick is one of four drivers left in the NASCAR $1 million season challenge, he was last year’s regular season champion and competed in the Cup Series in this season’s finale. However, none of the six drivers affected by the court ruling were locked in this year's playoffs.
This weekend, the issue in Dover will not be more than the issue of entering the largest 40 cars. But if 41 cars appear anywhere this season, then slowly people will be sent home, which means losing income and losing the chance to win in the standings.
“Obviously, there was no change at the end of my life, and nothing inside the store was changed,” said front-row racing driver Zane Smith. “There are usually not enough cars worried about transfers.”
Smith, who ranked 24th and may need a victory to qualify for NASCAR's playoffs, said he stood in the thrilling legal battle of Jenkins, a stock car series that has been vaguely vague for months.
“I left all of this to them, but my job is to get the best of 38,” Smith said.