Rick Hendrick (main image)
Bell made his ruling Tuesday. The NASCAR Hall of Fame team owners had filed a request to avoid being deposed, or at least have limitations on their testimony. Bell, however, denied both.
“As the Court has repeatedly said, the trial of this matter will be publicly and fairly contested under the relevant rules and law, without regard to the notoriety of the companies and individuals involved,” Bell wrote.
“No company or individual will be accorded special treatment (which is effectively what movants request here). NASCAR has told Plaintiffs and now the Court … that Mr. Hendrick and Mr. Penske will be called as witnesses for NASCAR at trial. Therefore, unless NASCAR irrevocably commits not to call these individuals as trial witnesses, then Plaintiffs have the right to promptly depose them before trial and cross-examine them at trial within the governing Federal Rules, without limitation.”
23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports had requested that they be allowed to depose Hendrick and Penske. The two teams filed a joint antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR in October 2024, and the trial date, December 1, is fast-approaching.
But neither Hendrick nor Penske wants any further involvement in the proceedings. The two were among multiple team owners who offered signed declarations on behalf of NASCAR
NASCAR included Hendrick and Penske on their witness list.