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12/05 05:00 CST Michael Jordan and Joe Gibbs' daughter-in-law to testify in
NASCAR antitrust case
Michael Jordan and Joe Gibbs' daughter-in-law to testify in NASCAR antitrust
case
By JENNA FRYER
AP Auto Racing Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) --- Michael Jordan and Joe Gibbs' daughter-in-law were
expected to testify Friday on the fifth day of the federal antitrust case the
Basketball Hall of Famer filed against NASCAR over claims the series has acted
as monopolistic bullies.
Heather Gibbs, the chief operating officer of Joe Gibbs Racing, wrote an
impassioned letter to NASCAR chairman Jim France in May 2024 imploring him to
make charters permanent for the sake of strengthening the family business.
Charters are the equivalent of the franchise model used in other sports and in
NASCAR it guarantees every chartered car a spot in all 38 races, plus a defined
payout from NASCAR. The system was created in 2016 and during the two-plus
years of bitter negotiations on an extension teams begged for the renewable
charters to become permanent.
When NASCAR refused to make them permanent and gave the teams six hours in
September 2024 to sign the 112-page extension, 23XI and Front Row Motorsports
were the only two organizations out of 15 to refuse and instead filed an
antitrust suit.
23XI is owned by Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and
Front Row is owned by fast food franchiser Bob Jenkins.
The discovery phase of the trial revealed a letter Heather Gibbs sent to
France, who is now chairman of the series his father founded 76 years ago.
"We've put 32 years into investing and building a dream, building careers,
building families, and building NASCAR. If the financial model made sense, we
would not have had to work with an outside investor," she wrote. "If our teams
were financially healthy and did not solely rely on sponsorship, I would sleep
better at night, not worrying about when the torch is passed on.
"We have invested not only our time but our family in this sport. We have
raised champions and buried their leaders, all while continuing to embrace the
historical roots of NASCAR," she continued in the two-page emotion-packed
letter. "So, with all due respect, please understand that when you tell us it
doesn't make sense to partner with us after 7 years is dejecting and truly
disappointing."
The letter came up in Thursday in testimony by NASCAR President Steve
O'Donnell, who was called as an adverse witness. O'Donnell in a text message
told Ben Kennedy, nephew of Jim France, "Jim is now reading Heather's letter
out loud and swearing every other sentence."
Pressed by plaintiffs attorney Jeffrey Kessler as to what France was saying as
he read the letter, O'Donnell said the chairman never swore. Kessler tried to
force O'Donnell to reconcile what he wrote to Kennedy, but O'Donnell maintained
that his boss was not cursing.
"That's what I wrote, but he was not doing that," O'Donnell testified. "We were
all taken aback by the letter. I think Jim was frustrated, as we all were."
Joe Gibbs ultimately signed the charter agreement, but Jenkins testified his
rival team owner apologized for doing so.
On Thursday, Kessler attempted to portray France as "a brick wall" in
negotiations. The teams had made specific requests in an attempt to improve
their financial position, but the deal ultimately given to them on the eve of
the start of the 2024 playoffs lacked most of their asks.
NASCAR was founded in 1948 by the late Bill France Sr. and to this day is
privately owned by the Florida-based family. Jim France is his youngest son.
Kessler had a contentious session over more than three hours with O'Donnell and
at times was shouting at the executive. He used internal communications among
NASCAR executives to demonstrate frustration among non-France family members
over the slow pace of negotiations and Jim France's refusal to grant the teams
permanent charters.
The internal communications among executives showed the mounting frustration
over the prolonged negotiations. As O'Donnell, Commissioner Steve Phelps and
others tried to find concessions for the teams, they all indicated they were
met by resistance time and again by France and his niece, vice chair Lesa
France Kennedy.
"Mr. France was the brick wall in the negotiations," Kessler said to O'Donnell.
"Those are your words, not mine," the executive replied.
Teams told NASCAR they were fighting for financial survival Earlier Thursday, O'Donnell testified that teams approached the sanctioning body in early 2022 asking for an improved revenue model, arguing the system was unsustainable. O'Donnell was at the meeting with representatives from four teams, who asked that the negotiating window on a new charter agreement open early because they were fighting for their financial survival. The negotiating window was not supposed to open until July 2023. O'Donnell testified that in that first meeting, four-time series champion Jeff Gordon, now vice chair of Hendrick Motorsports, asked specifically if the France family was "open to a new model." Kennedy, great-grandson of NASCAR's founder, told Gordon yes. But O'Donnell testified that chairman France was opposed to a new revenue model.
Both sides speak of financial difficulties The extensions that began this year upped the guaranteed money for every chartered car to $12.5 million in annual revenue, from $9 million. Hamlin and Jenkins have both testified it costs $20 million to bring a single car to the track for all 38 races. That figure does not include any overhead, operating costs or a driver's salary, and Jenkins admitted he doesn't spend that much. NASCAR has argued it has made huge improvements for the teams as it works to grow the sport. O'Donnell testified that NASCAR lost $55 million in the three years it held a race on the downtown streets of Chicago, and $6 million when it raced in June in Mexico City. But he said those events were critical in widening viewership and signing Amazon as a media partner. "It was a strategic investment because if not for that, Amazon would not have become a broadcast partner," he testified.
Odds and ends Judge Kenneth Bell admonished both sides over the slow pace of the trial, which was initially expected to take two weeks. Kessler said he didn't anticipate wrapping up the teams' side until the middle of next week. NASCAR plans to call Roger Penske as a witness. Penske, who is reluctant to testify, has said he's only available next Monday. Christopher Yates, lead attorney for NASCAR, asked that Penske be allowed to testify that day but Kessler objected because it would disrupt the flow of his presentation. Bell sided with Kessler and told NASCAR to figure it out with Penske because "federal trials are an inconvenience." The judge also said stretching the trial to three weeks is not acceptable, and while he's hesitant to step in to push the pace along, he urged both sides to counsel their witnesses to stop being "reluctant to answer even the most harmless questions." ___ AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Teams told NASCAR they were fighting for financial survival Earlier Thursday, O'Donnell testified that teams approached the sanctioning body in early 2022 asking for an improved revenue model, arguing the system was unsustainable. O'Donnell was at the meeting with representatives from four teams, who asked that the negotiating window on a new charter agreement open early because they were fighting for their financial survival. The negotiating window was not supposed to open until July 2023. O'Donnell testified that in that first meeting, four-time series champion Jeff Gordon, now vice chair of Hendrick Motorsports, asked specifically if the France family was "open to a new model." Kennedy, great-grandson of NASCAR's founder, told Gordon yes. But O'Donnell testified that chairman France was opposed to a new revenue model.
Both sides speak of financial difficulties The extensions that began this year upped the guaranteed money for every chartered car to $12.5 million in annual revenue, from $9 million. Hamlin and Jenkins have both testified it costs $20 million to bring a single car to the track for all 38 races. That figure does not include any overhead, operating costs or a driver's salary, and Jenkins admitted he doesn't spend that much. NASCAR has argued it has made huge improvements for the teams as it works to grow the sport. O'Donnell testified that NASCAR lost $55 million in the three years it held a race on the downtown streets of Chicago, and $6 million when it raced in June in Mexico City. But he said those events were critical in widening viewership and signing Amazon as a media partner. "It was a strategic investment because if not for that, Amazon would not have become a broadcast partner," he testified.
Odds and ends Judge Kenneth Bell admonished both sides over the slow pace of the trial, which was initially expected to take two weeks. Kessler said he didn't anticipate wrapping up the teams' side until the middle of next week. NASCAR plans to call Roger Penske as a witness. Penske, who is reluctant to testify, has said he's only available next Monday. Christopher Yates, lead attorney for NASCAR, asked that Penske be allowed to testify that day but Kessler objected because it would disrupt the flow of his presentation. Bell sided with Kessler and told NASCAR to figure it out with Penske because "federal trials are an inconvenience." The judge also said stretching the trial to three weeks is not acceptable, and while he's hesitant to step in to push the pace along, he urged both sides to counsel their witnesses to stop being "reluctant to answer even the most harmless questions." ___ AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
