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NASCAR announced a major mid-season rule change on Monday morning, and it’s one that could have wide-reaching effects in its ongoing court case with Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing team.
Kelly Crandall of RACER reports that NASCAR has alterned the “Entry Requirements” portion of its rulebook to read, “NASCAR, at its sole discretion, may elect to limit the number of entries for a race to 40. In such instances, Open Teams will be determined based on the Team Owner Point standings.”
The rule book goes on to state, regarding starting positions, that “Up to six Open Teams will be eligible for spots in the race based on the highest ranked in the owner standings.”
New NASCAR Rule Change Helps Teams In Short-Term But Could Have Larger Effects
On its face, this rule change appears to be a win for 23XI Racing as well as Front Row Motorsports, which recently had its charters stripped amid an ongoing lawsuit with NASCAR. The two teams, who did not sign the most recent charter agreement guaranteeing their cars starting spots in each race, claim that NASCAR acted as a monopoly when negotiating the agreement with teams.
Initially, the teams sought and were granted a temporary restraining order to compete as chartered teams throughout the duration of the court proceedings. But they then lost those charters on appeal by NASCAR.
In the short term, the new rule change helps 23XI and Front Row Motorsports as it assures that none of their cars will miss a race due to troubles in qualifying. But that’s where things get murky. The rule change allows NASCAR to argue in court that 23XI and Front Row Motorsports do not face any tangible damages by not competing as chartered teams.
Not only does it hurt the teams’ ongoing quest for a temporary injunction, but it may also harm their antitrust case long term. Now, it’s also entirely possible that a judge sees the rule changes and states that they further validate the case.
But for the time being, it sure looks as if NASCAR altered its rules mid-season in hopes of getting a victory in court.