CHARLOTTE, N.C. — 23XI Racing minority owner Denny Hamlin took the witness stand for the first time on Monday as an antitrust lawsuit trial began.
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The plaintiffs in this case — 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports — appeared before Judge Kenneth D. Bell in the Western District of North Carolina. Joining them were the Defendants in this case — NASCAR, CEO Jim France, NASCAR Holdings LLC, and NASCAR Event Management LLC.
This antitrust lawsuit, which 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports filed last year, alleges that NASCAR and France use anti-competitive practices that unfairly benefit them at the expense of teams, drivers, fans, and sponsors.
Hamlin spent just under an hour on the witness stand to close out a day that also included jury selection and opening statements from attorneys Jeffrey Kessler and John E. Stephenson. He did not complete his testimony due to jury selection having some unexpected delays, so he will finish first thing on Tuesday morning.
The first portion of trial day 1 has mostly concluded. They selected 9 jury members, but one had to pull out. So we wait for a potential 9th.
One jury member was dismissed for saying “NASCAR killed NASCAR.”
Two others were dismissed for being big Michael Jordan fans.— John Newby (@JohnNewby_) December 1, 2025
The key parts of Hamlin's testimony focused on several different aspects, including his childhood, his move into racing, his decision to form a NASCAR team, multiple expansions/charter purchases, and the financial aspects of being a team co-owner.
Let's dive into some takeaways from his testimony on the stand:
- The Cup Series veteran had to fight back tears early after attorney Jeanifer E. Parsigian asked about becoming a racer. Hamlin pointed to his father's ailing health and the sacrifices that his family made to support his racing career.
- When Hamlin decided to start a NASCAR team, he did not specifically reach out to Michael Jordan. He first began "kicking the tires" at multiple teams to see if he could become a minority owner. None of these teams had openings, but this interest created a fake headline about Hamlin and Jordan investing in Richard Petty Motorsports.
- This headline prompted Hamlin to send a message to his future business partner. As Hamlin remembers, he was making his second shot on the ninth hole of a golf course.
- Hamlin needed a majority owner to join him in this endeavor. He said that NASCAR rules prevented him from driving for one team while being the majority owner of another.
- The first charter Hamlin purchased was No. 30, which Germain Racing previously owned. He then purchased charter No. 4 from StarCom Racing for the team's second car. The third charter came from Stewart-Haas Racing.
- Hamlin said the team paid $4.7 million for his first charter, $13.5 million for his second, and $28 million for his third. He is responsible for 40% of each purchase.
- 23XI Racing has roughly 140 employees, 70-80 of whom actually touch the car. Hamlin said that his business partners challenged him to run the business as lean as possible as they sought to make any profit.
- A partnership with Joe Gibbs Racing aids in this pursuit. Hamlin said they pay Joe Gibbs Racing about $8 million annually for information and services. This includes having JGR hang the bodies on the chassis.
- Hamlin said multiple times that NASCAR tries to take their sponsors, which is one reason why he and the team spent $35 million building Airspeed. He said this facility and Jordan help land business deals.
- Hamlin pointed to Germain Racing losing its sponsor (Geico) to NASCAR, which caused the team to go out of business.
- When asked about NASCAR controlling costs of the teams, Hamlin said that trips to Mexico and potentially other markets puts extensive pressure on the team. He said they spend far more money making the trip and also paying overtime to the employees who have to work extra hours to prep the cars, and it puts extra pressure on the employees.
- Hamlin said these trips cause the bottom line to fluctuate by about $1.5 million.
Hamlin's time on the stand ended prematurely due to time constraints. Judge Bell said he wanted to end each day of trial as close to 5 p.m. as possible. If the testimony had continued, it would have pushed the session deeper into the evening.
The 23XI Racing co-owner will return to the stand on Tuesday shortly after 9 a.m. as this jury trial resumes. The defense will then cross-examine him with their own series of questions.
