23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports have had their motion for expedited discovery denied by the court.
The request was filed earlier this month on the heels of the motion for preliminary injunction that was filed. The teams were seeking immediate access to documents and files from NASCAR CEO Jim France, Lesa France Kennedy, Ben Kennedy, Steve O’Donnell, Steve Phelps and Scott Prime. The requests concerned the 2025 charter agreement, the negotiation process, the take-it-or-leave-it final offer made to teams in September, exclusivity NASCAR has with racetracks, acquisition of the ARCA Menards Series, and specific provisions in the charter agreement.
In his ruling, United States District Judge Frank D. Whitney laid out multiple factors for the decision. First, the court determined the request would not be as the team’s proposed of “narrowly tailored” and a “minimal burden to Defendants.” The requests for production were also seen as overly broad as it spanned eight years.
As written in the ruling, “More critically, though, Plaintiffs seek all of this information within five days of a Court order granting their motion for expedited discovery … a timeframe that would put a significant burden on Defendants. Accordingly, this factor weighs heavily against granting the motion.”