Michael Jordan NASCAR

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The ongoing lawsuit between Michael Jordan, his 23XI Racing team, and NASCAR heated up on Thursday during a court hearing to discuss a preliminary injunction motion.

Jordan’s 23XI and co-plaintiff Front Row Motorsports are seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent NASCAR from selling the teams’ former charters before the case is resolved. U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell said he would issue a ruling next week, while warning that sport could change forever if the sides do not settle before a Dec. 1 trial date.

Last month, 23XI co-owner Denny Hamlin offered an ominous warning amid the ongoing legal battle.

“If you want answers, you want to understand why all this is happening. Come Dec. 1, you’ll get the answers that you’re looking for,” Hamlin said at the time. “All will be exposed.”

Now we have some insight into what Hamlin was talking about.

Bombshell Texts Highlight Discovery Process Of Michael Jordan-NASCAR Lawsuit

Jordan and Front Row Motorsports owner Bob Jenkins are arguing that NASCAR is operating as a monopoly and used that leverage to force teams into an unfair charter agreement prior to the 2025 season.

Some of the texts revealed in Thursday’s hearing make it hard to argue otherwise.

Steve Phelps, who was recently named NASCAR commissioner, said in one message that a proposed deal represented “zero wins” for the teams and told executives to “pick a date and (teams) can either sign or lose their charters. It is that simple.”

Meanwhile, current NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell suggested that the France family, which has owned NASCAR since its inception, was forcing through a deal that would represent a “1996 f— the teams, redneck, Southern, tiny sport.”

23XI Racing Is Furious With NASCAR

But not all the texts came from the NASCAR side of the aisle.

Lawyers for the series released a string of messages between Hamlin and 23XI president Steve Lauletta in which the team owner stated that “my despise for the France family runs deep.”

Further on in the conversation, Lauletta said he was unsure if the series would ever improve, and that series owner “Jim (France) dying is probably the answer” to getting better terms.

After the hearing, Jordan and lawyer Jeffrey Kessler met with members of the media and expressed their intent to see out the legal process.

“If I have to fight this to the end, for the betterment of the sport, I will do that,” he said.

That steadfast approach may prove dangerous to NASCAR in the long term, as Judge Bell alluded to during Thursday’s hearing.