Concerns of Monster Energy and Love's Travel Stops factored into preliminary injunction
Yesterday at 02:51 AM
Two of 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports‘ sponsors expressed concern about their status amid their antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR, a factor that the judge said he took into account to grant the teams a preliminary injunction Wednesday. U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth Bell was assigned on to the case this month after the prior judge overseeing the case, Frank Whitney, was re-assigned without explanation.
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Bell acknowledged in his ruling Wednesday that 23XI had filed to the court information detailing how its two current Cup Series drivers, Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick, were exploring what this case meant for their status moving forward. In November, Reddick "notified the team that it had breached his Driver and Personal Services Agreement," according to the filing, while Wallace "informed 23XI that he needs to know how it intends to compete 'immediately‘ so that he can explore seats with other teams." The judge then got into sponsorship, revealing that Monster Energy, one of 23XI‘s corporate partners, notified the team in November that it was delaying a consumer promotion and "reconsidering its entire relationship" due to the uncertainty around the team. Front Row‘s biggest sponsor, Love‘s Travel Stops, sent a similar note of concern to that team.
In his concluding remarks, the judge said the teams had shown in the second filing that an injunction was now necessary.
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It‘s unclear whether NASCAR and the two teams could be open to settlement talks.
