CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Rain fell outside of the Charles R. Jonas Federal Building on Friday as four witnesses took the stand in front of legal teams representing 23XI Racing/Front Row Motorsports and NASCAR/Jim France. This included Michael Jordan, who spent about an hour answering questions.
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Jordan spent the first portion of his testimony fielding questions from an attorney representing 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports. First up was a question to the six-time NBA champion that made everyone in the courtroom laugh. "Did you play any sports?"
Opener aside, Jordan primarily focused on his love of NASCAR, his early family trips to tracks across the southeast, his investment in 23XI Racing, why he brought this antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR and France, and how he believes this sport can grow. He also revealed that he had invested $35-40 million in 23XI Racing since 2020.
23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports filed an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR and France in October 2024, alleging that they used anti-competitive acts to hurt teams while simultaneously enriching the France family.
Jordan said “someone had to step forward and challenge the entity” when asked about the lawsuit. Said that the economic terms of the 2025 agreement were not viable and that the can’t sue NASCAR stipulation was “not appropriate.
Jordan has invested $35-40 million in 23XI.
Jordan…— John Newby (@JohnNewby_) December 5, 2025
"Someone had to step forward and challenge the entity," Jordan told Plaintiffs' attorney, adding that the other team owners were "browbeat."
Jordan acknowledged during NASCAR cross-examination that this system helps bring sponsors and investors to teams. He also confirmed that he believes in the charter system, and he doesn't discredit the France family for what it has achieved over 77-ish years.
He just hoped to see more credit given to the drivers and teams who put on the show and put their lives on the line.
"I never saw Jim France drive a car," Jordan said. "I never saw Jim risk his life."
He explained during this quick time on the stand that he didn't sign the 2025 Charter agreement because he didn't view the economic terms of the 2025 Charter Agreement as viable for 23XI Racing.
Jordan also didn't find the stipulation stating that charter teams can't sue NASCAR to be appropriate. Finally, he did not like the deadline that NASCAR gave teams on Sept. 6, 2024, which teams have called the "take it or leave it" deal.
Yet, Jordan told attorneys for Plaintiffs and Defendants that he sees an opportunity for the sport to grow. He said that he believes there is a number that they can find in negotiations that would make sense for both parties.
He believes that NASCAR and the teams can have a partnership where they adjust revenue if the TV terms change. Jordan noted multiple times that team owners and the NBA "share the burden" with their media rights negotiations.
Here's what else happened during a busy afternoon in the courtroom.
Steve O'Donnell returns to the witness stand
NASCAR President Steve O'Donnell spent 4 hours and 45 minutes on the witness stand on Thursday, answering questions from both Plaintiffs' attorney Jeffrey Kessler and Defendants' attorney Christopher Yates. He then returned to the stand on Friday morning for nearly two hours of additional testimony.
It was during this session that O'Donnell addressed the possibility that a competing stock car series could race at tracks not owned or contracted to NASCAR. He told Yates that more than 1,000 tracks exist in America and that he has visited "at least 125 of them." He said that only roughly 30 of these tracks have exclusivity agreements.
So where are these facilities that a competing series could use to compete? According to O'Donnell, teams could race at Pike's Peak International International Raceway in Colorado, Road America in Wisconsin, and Kevin Harvick's Kern Raceway in California.
O'Donnell then further discussed the SRX series and NASCAR's issue with the now-defunct series — although he testified that the series had announced its return. This did not actually happen as GMS Racing purchased the series' cars and assets in September.
According to O'Donnell, NBC Sports executive Sam Flood reached out to NASCAR in media rights negotiations, asking why he had to pay what he is paying if a competing series is delivering a NASCAR feel in a competing market. O'Donnell then explained that one of his issues with the SRX series was Chase Elliott showing up with a NAPA-sponsored car with the stylized No. 9 font on the side.
The NASCAR president also had multiple things to say about the NASCAR charters and whether they could be permanent. He said that "in our minds, the charters were not originally put together to be permanent." He listed the unknowns such as car and schedule changes.
He compared the situation to Formula 1 having its Concorde Agreement that gets renegotiated every few years and the NTT IndyCar Series' new charter system that only lasts several years. Although O'Donnell did say "possibly" when Kessler repeatedly asked if team values would increase with permanent charters.
The discussion included the financial requests from the teams during the 2025 Charter Agreement Negotiations. O'Donnell said that the request for $720 million ($20 million per car) shocked him because the previous media rights agreement was only $800 million per year. O'Donnell said that the requested amount would hurt the long-term growth of the sport.
This amount of money is not the only part of the charter negotiations that O'Donnell discussed during his time on the stand on Friday. He answered multiple questions about 23XI Racing co-owner Curtis Polk, a man who NASCAR has portrayed as an antagonist this week in court.
According to O'Donnell, "Mr. Polk did not initially come in with an appreciation for NASCAR." This approach marked a change from the NASCAR president's normal negotiations with the historic owners. O'Donnell indicated that Polk had a lack of respect.
"Mr. Polk yelled at me, personally, kicked me out...threatened to kick me out of my own meeting," O'Donnell said.
This comment led to a question from Kessler later in the session. The Plaintiffs' attorney asked if the NASCAR executives like Steve Phelps had always been respectful to the team owners, such as Richard Childress. This referenced the current NASCAR commissioner calling Childress a "stupid redneck" in unsealed text messages. This question prompted Yates to object, and it ended O'Donnell's time on the stand.
Heather Gibbs explains her letter to NASCAR executives
We are in lunch recess. Heather Gibbs provided her testimony and completed her time in just under an hour.
- Denny Hamlin had another offer on the table before the two-year extension this season.
- Joe Gibbs Racing will have 26 sponsors this year after the departure of FedEx…— John Newby (@JohnNewby_) December 5, 2025
With O'Donnell stepping down from the stand, it became time for Joe Gibbs Racing co-owner Heather Gibbs to provide her testimony. This session focused primarily on a letter that she sent to France, Phelps, O'Donnell, Scott Prime, and Lesa France Kennedy about permanent charters.
As Gibbs explained, she sent the letter after Phelps after he told Joe Gibbs Racing that they spent money recklessly. As a person who processes information, she took some time before deciding to write the letter, which began with comments about how she appreciates what the France family has built in NASCAR.
The letter continued with Gibbs discussing the importance of permanent charters for the Cup Series teams. This included a line about NASCAR "disregarding 32 years of dedication and commitment that Joe Gibbs Racing" has given to the France family by saying no to permanent charters.
Of all the exhibits with fiery talk and anger, this one stood out for its approach. This May 2024 from Heather Gibbs to NASCAR leadership after a meeting with them and her view on why teams should get permanent charters: pic.twitter.com/bw3JjuR1Xj
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) October 30, 2025
Gibbs provided more comments about this letter and how "vital" the permanent charters would be during her time on the witness stand.
She first said that she had a very good conversation with France Kennedy about the letter, which caused her to believe it was very well received. She then sent a follow-up to France Kennedy hoping to discuss crafting the language for evergreen charters, but she never received a response.
Gibbs also spoke about the "take it or leave it" charter draft from Sept. 6, 2024. According to Gibbs, JGR President Dave Alpern spoke to Phelps after receiving the email from NASCAR, and he confirmed that the team would lose its charters if it did not sign the Charter Agreement.
She also testified that Coach Joe Gibbs spoke to France about the deadline, to which the NASCAR CEO said that he was done having this conversation. "If I wake up and I have 20 charters, I have 20 charters," France said, according to Gibbs.
Jonathan Marshall represents the Race Team Alliance
The final witness to take the stand on Friday was Race Team Alliance Executive Director Jonathan Marshall, who played a behind the scenes role during the Charter Agreement negotiations. This session started with Marshall providing feedback about charts and decks he had created.
This included a chart showing team revenue split by major sports series. This includes the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS, and NASCAR. According to the chart, NASCAR's revenues were near the bottom of the chart. Marshall said that costs for NASCAR teams went up 39% between 2009-2019 but sponsorship went down 25%.
Marshall also testified that the Wasserman Consulting Group provided a report showing that NASCAR received the lowest amount of revenue compared to other major sports.
NASCAR's attorney, Lawrence Buterman, pushed back against the financial data provided by Marshall while seemingly trying to portray him as an unreliable witness, saying that he only had secondhand information instead of firsthand.
Buterman particularly asked multiple times about a deposition in which Marshall indicated team owners were not being truthful to him.
This created a contentious back and forth when Buterman said the owners potentially providing false statements to Marshall focused on financial aspects. Marshall said that the word financials was not in the deposition and that he could have been talking about anything such as competition.
One other important part of Marshall's time on the stand focused on teams exploring other racing opportunities, such as an exhibition event in Oman that never materialized. He explained that they looked toward the Middle East because it did not fall into the territory mentioned in NASCAR's Goodwill Provision. This territory only covers the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
Marshall also acknowledged that the RTA had filed trademarks for the U.S. Racing League. This is the name the teams considered if they decided to form a competitive stock car series. Although they never fully pursued this opportunity.
Trial will continue on Monday, Dec. 8, as Marshall returns to the stand for more cross-examination from Buterman.
