NASCAR Lawsuit: Denny Hamlin Willing to Spend Nearly $80 Million Instead of Giving Up Easy

Denny Hamlin isn’t willing to go down without a fight. Recently, 23XI and Front Row Motorsports were dealt a major blow after a three-judge federal appeals court overturned the preliminary injunction, which allowed the plaintiffs to retain their charters. Claiming that the lower court “abused its discretion”, the U.S. Court of Appeals will now allow NASCAR to strip three charters from each of the two race teams. But the veteran racer isn’t fretting over it, even though competing in the ‘open’ category comes with its fair share of challenges.

Hamlin is viewing it as just a small setback in the grand scheme of things and is hopeful that the antitrust lawsuit will go in their favor later this year. However, the journey from now until December will be far from smooth, especially with smaller payouts and no guaranteed starts.

Denny Hamlin remains optimistic despite a major setback

They might have lost the battle, but the war is far from over. At least that’s what Denny Hamlin feels after losing 23XI Racing’s charters after the preliminary injunction was overturned. For the plaintiffs, this is just a temporary setback, with attorney Jeffrey Kessler even admitting that the verdict “does not impact our chances of winning at trial scheduled for December 1.” As things stand, both teams are in it too deep, and NASCAR has made it clear that the original terms of the charter are no longer on the table, even if the plaintiffs decide to back out.

But Denny Hamlin and Co. have no such intentions. Sharing his thoughts on the Actions Detrimental podcast, the 23XI Racing co-owner had said, “Yeah, this is just a part of the, certain little battles that happened throughout the litigation. It does not have anything to do with the actual lawsuit itself. This was just essentially, we asked the judge to give us an injunction, to allow us to race chartered as we go through this. He gave us the injunction based off the facts, and then we had NASCAR appeal it, took it to the appeals panel, and they overruled the initial judge.”

Losing their charters will cost 23XI Racing a significant amount of money. According to various reports, the annual team operations per ‘open entry’ car is about $18 million, and since Hamlin’s team has three cars, an estimated $54 million will be spent. There’s also $10-$20 million lost in purse and TV revenue, while qualifying attempts and other logistical challenges would mean $65–80 million will be incurred by the team now that they will be running as ‘open’ teams. But the 44-year-old is remaining unfazed.

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Confident as ever, Denny Hamlin went on to say, “We’re checking out our options now, and we’re going to be racing this full year, no matter what, and look forward to our day in December.” While both 23XI and Front Row Motorsports have a couple of weeks to request a rehearing, if that doesn’t go according to plan, the verdict will go into effect by June 26th. Even though both teams’ ownership groups have the financial means to withstand the short-term financial hit of losing their charters, it will seriously hurt their pockets in the long run.

Jeffrey Kessler is confident about turning the situation around

Reputed antitrust attorney Jeffrey Kessler didn’t envision NASCAR’s appeal would be successful. When the U.S. District Court granted the preliminary injunction in his clients’ favor back in December 2024, it was a big win for 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports. Being able to retain their charters while pursuing legal action against NASCAR was the best-case scenario for the plaintiffs, but that situation was short-lived.

In a statement issued by Jeffrey Kessler, the attorney said, “We are disappointed by today’s ruling by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and are reviewing the decision to determine our next steps.” He went on to say, “We remain confident in our case and committed to racing for the entirety of this season as we continue our fight to create a fair and just economic system for stock car racing that is free of anticompetitive, monopolistic conduct.”

While it’s going to be an uphill climb from this point on, Denny Hamlin and Bob Jenkins’ teams will be sticking to their guns. It seems like the antitrust lawsuit may have a few more twists until December, and the verdict will change the sport forever. It’s nothing short of a David vs Goliath battle between NASCAR and the plaintiffs, but if there’s anyone who can emerge victorious after taking a stand against the sport, it’s Michael Jordan and Co.

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