Hendrick and Penske fire back after 23XI push for | Sports News

The unending lawsuit between 23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports, and NASCAR has taken yet one more flip, with Rick Hendrick and Roger Penske pushing back in opposition to their Cup Series rivals’ request for the crew homeowners to be deposed.

Hendrick and Penske are new arrivals to the saga, which started in October 2024 with 23XI and FRM submitting an antitrust lawsuit in opposition to NASCAR concerning its constitution settlement and what they imagine to be “monopolistic” practices on behalf of the group.

Following a failure for the edges to succeed in a settlement settlement at a current listening to in Charlotte, North Carolina, after which NASCAR’s counterclaim was dismissed by Judge Kenneth Bell in an early win for the 2 groups, it emerged that the group meant for each Hendrick and Penske to take to the stand as soon as the trial begins on December 1.

Such a formal deposition would contain the people in query being interviewed underneath oath and is vital to the invention section. This would see each 23XI/FRM and NASCAR gain entry to paperwork and prior conversations – one thing each Hendrick and Penske are cautious of because it pertains to their rivals.

23XI and FRM subsequently submitted their own request to depose Hendrick and Penske previous to the trial, in line with Bob Pockrass. He added, “FRM/23XI allege Hendrick and Penske were designated as possible witnesses at trial and weren’t designated as possible witnesses prior to the end of discovery as required.”

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However, Hendrick and Penske have now fired back, calling for this deposition request to be denied, “or otherwise putting guardrails on their testimony at deposition (and trial) limiting such testimony to the high-level subject matter of their Declarations,” as per the court docket submitting.

In a subsequent preliminary assertion, Hendrick and Penske’s attorneys said, “In keeping with the adage that ‘no good deed goes unpunished,’ Movants find themselves, quickly and without much warning, in the unenviable position of being offered to give expansive and unnecessary deposition testimony as a result of wrangling between the parties to a lawsuit that should have been settled long before now.

“As explained in greater detail below, Messrs. Hendrick and Penske, in view of their decades-long relationship with Jim France, agreed to give limited testimony regarding non-confidential matters at the trial of this case, but in a way that did not force them to ‘take sides’ in this lawsuit – something which both men have made clear that they cannot and will not do.

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“That has now morphed into an effort by the Plaintiffs to seek testimony potentially regarding HMS’ and Penske’s highly confidential financial and other business information. Movants bring this motion because efforts to resolve this matter amicably proved fruitless.”

This follows one other current ruling by Judge Bell, which sided with 23XI/FRM in that, within the court docket’s opinion, NASCAR does certainly maintain a monopoly over the “premier stock-car racing” market. As a outcome, this basically brushes apart NASCAR’s argument that disgruntled groups can merely race elsewhere, as famous by ESPN.

“We are very pleased with the Court’s decision today, ruling in our favor,” 23XI/FRM legal professional Jeffrey Kessler stated. “Not only does it deny NASCAR’s motion for summary judgment, but it also grants our partial summary judgment motion, finding that NASCAR has monopoly power in a properly defined market.

“This means that the trial can now be focused on whether NASCAR has maintained that power through anticompetitive acts and used that power to harm teams. We’re prepared to present our case to the jury and are focused on obtaining a verdict that benefits all of the teams, partners, drivers, and the fans.”