In 1961, NASCAR founder Invoice France Sr. banned Curtis Turner — the most well-liked driver within the sport on the time — and two-time Cup Sequence champion Tim Flock for all times.
In 1969, France held the inaugural race on the Talladega Superspeedway with out lots of his star drivers, as these within the Skilled Drivers Affiliation boycotted the occasion after France refused to acknowledge their issues over the observe’s security.
In 1988, NASCAR suspended star driver Tim Richmond after Richmond failed a drug take a look at. The medication he examined constructive for? Sudafed and Advil, each of which he obtained over-the-counter.
76 years after NASCAR’s dusty origins in a smoke-filled room in Daytona Seaside took place, the sanctioning physique’s historical past is doing nothing to assist it at a tumultuous time in its existence.
On Wednesday, 23XI Racing — co-owned by driver Denny Hamlin and basketball legend Michael Jordan — and Entrance Row Motorsports sued NASCAR, calling the sanctioning physique and the France household “monopolistic bullies.”
The lawsuit argues that NASCAR, which continues to be privately owned and operated by the France household, has established a monopoly of stock-car racing that’s anti-competition. The swimsuit comes almost 4 weeks after NASCAR’s groups had been all pressured to signal a brand new constitution settlement for the 2025 season, which some house owners felt “coerced and threatened” into signing.
The one two holdouts from the constitution settlement? 23XI and Entrance Row, who’ve now doubled down on their defiance. Representing the groups will probably be Jeffrey Kessler, a lawyer infamous for his work with different skilled sports activities leagues. Kessler spoke on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Wednesday concerning the lawsuit.
