CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Retired NBA star Michael Jordan and his fellow owners of two NASCAR teams went to federal court for a hearing Monday. antitrust fight They say what they do against stock car lines is an unfair business model.

23XI Racing, owned by Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and Front Row Motorsports, owned by restaurant entrepreneur Bob Jenkins. Suit filed against NASCAR and chairman Jim France in October after months of tense negotiations over NASCAR’s charter system, a franchise model that essentially involves revenue sharing.

The two teams say NASCAR made a last-minute, take-it-or-leave-it offer to all Cup Series teams in September, but both 23XI and Front Row refused to sign. Owners claim the charter system limits competition by unfairly tying teams to the series. his scars and called its suppliers, the France family and NASCAR, “monopolistic tyrants.”

As NASCAR heads into championship weekend, the battle continues with the championship-deciding race at Phoenix on Sunday, where 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick will be among four drivers who can win.

U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney last week denied 23XI and Front Row’s request for expedited discovery that NASCAR submit documents before Monday’s preliminary injunction hearing.

“While the proposed discovery requests help plaintiffs demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits, they are not narrowly tailored enough,” Whitney wrote.

23XI’s Jordan, Hamlin and Curtis Polk were joined by Jenkins and Front Row President Jerry Freeze. The hearing is vital to how next season progresses for both teams.

23XI and Front Row will be able to compete as open teams next year as well. They even claim they will compete under NASCAR’s open team agreement; There is a clause that would exempt NASCAR from any future lawsuits, so both teams are seeking an injunction to continue their current lawsuits while they race.

The teams argue that NASCAR will not be harmed by the injunction because the series plans to have 36 charter teams, and allowing them to compete as charter teams while pursuing litigation preserves the status quo.

NASCAR says it now plans to run 32 rental teams and eight open cars (instead of four) in its 40-car field each week. 23XI and Front Row currently have two unsigned contracts and both have agreements to purchase one each with Stewart-Haas Racing.

These deals have not yet been finalized and NASCAR has stated that it will not recognize the sales. NASCAR claims to have complied with 32 charter agreements signed in September alone.

NASCAR argues that the two teams did not meet the terms of the injunction because they were still able to compete as open teams and could be compensated for damages if they won the case.

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