Two racing teams, one owned by basketball legend Michael Jordan, filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday accusing NASCAR operators of being "monopolistic bullies" who line the pockets of the circuit's founding family.
Front Row Motorsports and Jordan's 23XI Racing made those allegations in a federal restraint-of-trade lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Charlotte, North Carolina, which seeks antitrust status.
The lawsuit claims too much of NASCAR's operations are conducted in secret and to the benefit of CEO Jim France, the son of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., and their ruling stock car family.
"The France family and NASCAR are monopolistic bullies," according to the lawsuit. "And bullies will continue to impose their will to hurt others until their targets stand up and refuse to be victims. That moment has now arrived."
A NASCAR representative said Wednesday morning that the motorsports organization was still reviewing the complaint and could not immediately comment. The representative could not be immediately reached for comment Thursday.
Front Row Motorsports, owned by Bob Jenkins; 23XI Racing, co-owned by Jordan, Denny Hamlin and Curtis Polk; and other teams have been negotiating for what they believe should be a more equitable share of NASCAR revenues, according to the complaint.
Racing teams receive only about 13% of NASCAR's ever-increasing revenues, which include TV deals signed since 2001 worth about $23.1 billion, according to Polk.
"Unlike many major professional sports leagues like the NFL or the NBA, which are owned and operated by their teams, NASCAR has always been privately owned by the France family, including current CEO and Chairman, James (‘Jim’) France," the lawsuit says.
"By exploiting its monopoly power over the racing teams, NASCAR has been able to impose anti-competitive terms as a condition of a team’s access to competitions," it says.
Jeffrey Kessler, a lawyer for the plaintiffs who specializes in sports antitrust issues and has represented a long list of unions and players, said he was eager to get hold of NASCAR’s financial information through pretrial discovery.
“That is one of the advantages of federal antitrust litigation,” he said. “We will be able to obtain financial records. We will be able to follow the money. We will be able to see exactly how exploitative this system has been and how much injury it’s inflicted on the teams and drivers.”
Jordan said the plaintiffs will prevail, in the same manner his Chicago Bulls captured six NBA titles.
"Everyone knows that I have always been a fierce competitor and that will to win is what drives me and the entire 23XI team each and every week on the track," Jordan said in a statement Wednesday.
"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," he said. "Today's action shows I'm willing to fight for a competitive market where everyone wins."
