Roger Penske and Rick Hendrick will have to get involved in an ongoing legal battle between 23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports, and NASCAR after the latest order from Judge Kenneth D. Bell.
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The judge ruled on Wednesday to allow the two teams suing NASCAR to depose both Hendrick and Penske prior to the Dec. 1 antitrust lawsuit trial. The reason for this is that NASCAR previously identified the two championship-winning team owners as possible witnesses during the trial.
The problem for 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, which they declared in a motion request, is that this witness identification took place in September.
MORE: Motion to depose Roger Penske and Rick Hendrick
"More than two months after the close of fact discovery, NASCAR identified Rick Hendrick and Roger Penske as individuals likely to have discoverable information that NASCAR may use to support its claims and/or defenses," the attorney for 23XI and Front Row wrote. "NASCAR has since identified Messrs. Hendrick and Penske as witnesses it may call at trial.
"NASCAR's untimely disclosure of those witnesses prevented Plaintiffs from deposing them during the fact discovery period. To remedy the unfairness caused by NASCAR's actions and to ensure the orderly presentation of evidence at trial, Plaintiffs seek leave to depose Messrs. Hendrick and Penske before trial. NASCAR has indicated it takes no position on this motion."
The two teams said in their motion that their legal counsel reached out to the counsel for both Hendrick and Penske. At that time, neither team owner had been approached about being witnesses in this trial.
"Plaintiffs and third-party counsel then asked NASCAR to confirm its intentions regarding these witnesses," the motion from the two teams continued. "NASCAR's counsel did not respond, but included Mr. Hendrick and Mr. Penske on their witness list served on November 3, 2025 and has since confirmed their intention to call these witnesses."
