NASCAR has filed a motion to dismiss the antitrust lawsuit brought by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, calling it a "misguided attempt to dress up private business frustrations in antitrust garb."

The lawsuit, filed on October 2 against NASCAR and chairman Jim France, accuses the organization of monopolistic practices that prevent fair competition in the sport. NASCAR presented four main grounds for dismissal:

1. Most claims are time-barred, as they concern events from over four years ago, including NASCAR's acquisition of ARCA Menards Series (2018), ISC (2019), and Next Gen car requirements (2020)

2. The plaintiffs lack antitrust standing since they didn't sign the 2025 charter agreement and therefore aren't affected by the challenged provisions

3. The proposed market definition is legally deficient due to incorrect market analysis timing

4. There's no demonstration of exclusionary conduct by NASCAR, as they offered contractual terms which the plaintiffs rejected

23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports were the only teams that didn't sign the 2025 charter agreement. While their initial preliminary injunction to race as charter teams was denied on November 8, NASCAR has since removed the anticompetitive release requirement in the Open agreement, allowing them to race as open teams next season.

Jim France, NASCAR's chairman and CEO, filed a supporting memorandum arguing that the claims against him lack plausible, factual allegations of active involvement in anticompetitive schemes.

The plaintiffs have until December 16 to respond to NASCAR's motion for dismissal.

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