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Charlotte, NC – Two titans of NASCAR, Roger Penske and Rick Hendrick, are actively pushing back against a court order compelling their depositions in the ongoing antitrust lawsuit filed by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports against NASCAR. The racing magnates, whose teams are not direct parties to the litigation, find themselves in an unexpected and unwelcome position, seeking to significantly limit the breadth of testimony they are being asked to provide.
The motion to limit the deposition scope was filed just days after Hendrick and Penske were initially slated for examination, a development that legal representatives for the plaintiffs, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, characterized as NASCAR’s attempt to “sandbag” them. The plaintiffs argued they were not afforded adequate time for discovery and due diligence on these key figures after NASCAR added them to its witness list.
Representing Hendrick and Penske, attorney Adam Ross articulated his clients’ position, stating that they were approached by NASCAR officials, including Jim France, only recently. The initial request, according to Ross, was for limited testimony concerning high-level, non-confidential matters, specifically related to public statements both men issued urging a settlement in the dispute.
"Movants find themselves, quickly and without much warning, in the unenviable position of being forced to give expansive and unnecessary deposition testimony as a result of wrangling between the parties to a lawsuit that should have settled long before now," the filing states. "As explained in greater detail below, Messrs. Hendrick and Penske, in view of their decades-long relationship with Jim France, agreed to give limited testimony regarding non-confidential matters at the trial of this case, but in a way that did not force them to ‘take sides’ in this lawsuit – something which both men have made clear that they cannot and will not do. That has now morphed into an effort by the Plaintiffs to seek testimony potentially regarding HMS’s and Penske’s highly confidential financial and other business information."
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Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) and Team Penske (PRS), as they are referred to in legal documents, are among the most successful and influential organizations in NASCAR. Hendrick Motorsports, founded by Rick Hendrick, boasts a record 14 Cup Series championships, with drivers like Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Chase Elliott achieving significant success under its banner. Team Penske, led by Roger Penske, a revered figure in motorsports across multiple disciplines, has secured multiple NASCAR Cup Series titles with drivers such as Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski. Their teams consistently contend for wins and championships, representing substantial financial and operational investments.
The core of the dispute lies in the plaintiffs’ alleged desire to probe into the deeply confidential financial and business records of Hendrick Motorsports and Team Penske. This includes inquiries into private communications surrounding the negotiations that led to the initial 2016 Charter Agreement, a pivotal document that underpins the current economic structure of the sport.
The filing from Hendrick and Penske’s counsel highlights a prior court order on June 25, 2025, which significantly limited the information that non-party teams could be compelled to provide. This order was established to protect the proprietary data of teams not directly involved in the lawsuit, allowing them to submit broad financial records in an anonymized and untraceable format. The intent was to prevent the disclosure of sensitive competitive information that could be exploited by rivals or the public.
"The testimony that Plaintiffs now seek will undermine the entirety of the Court’s decision as related to HMS and PRS and potentially allow the Parties (or the media or general public) to ‘reverse engineer’ the anonymized team information to back out HMS and PRS in an effort to identify the sources of the other team information," the motion argues.
The legal team for Hendrick and Penske contends that the plaintiffs’ refusal to adhere to the agreed-upon limited scope of questioning, focused solely on the settlement declarations, demonstrates an intent to acquire information that is both irrelevant to the core antitrust claims and potentially damaging to their competitive standing.
“Immediately after Plaintiffs filed their Motion for Leave on Wednesday, but before this Court granted the Motion, counsel for the Parties met and conferred with the undersigned counsel,” the motion details. “The undersigned counsel explained that NASCAR had agreed to limit the scope of trial testimony to the Declarations, and so long as the Plaintiffs limited their questioning to that narrow lane of questioning, a compromise could be reached allowing for the depositions to occur without objection. Plaintiffs refused and made clear that they intended to ask numerous questions of both men regarding their respective race teams’ highly confidential business and financial records, private communications regarding the negotiations leading up to the initial 2016 Charter Agreement, and other highly confidential topics.”
The timing of these deposition requests, occurring so close to the Thanksgiving holiday and the impending trial, is also cited as a significant burden. Hendrick and Penske’s motion requests that their depositions be permitted to proceed via Zoom and strictly under the protective parameters established by the prior court order.
“HMS and PRS compete directly with both NASCAR and Plaintiffs for sponsors and employees, as well as on the track. Disclosure of HMS’s and PRS’s financial and business information would thus be incredibly burdensome and harmful,” the filing emphasizes. “Moreover, HMS or PRS have little confidence that a protective order would maintain the confidentiality of any such information – whether in a deposition or ultimately at trial – given the First Amendment and common law rights of access already recognized by this Court.”
The underlying antitrust lawsuit centers on allegations that NASCAR has engaged in monopolistic practices, stifling competition and unfairly benefiting its own operations and affiliated entities at the expense of independent teams. The charter system, introduced in 2016, has been a focal point of contention, with some teams arguing it creates an artificial barrier to entry and limits the economic viability of smaller organizations. 23XI Racing, co-owned by NBA legend Michael Jordan and NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin, and Front Row Motorsports, led by Bob Jenkins, are among the plaintiffs seeking to challenge NASCAR’s long-standing business model.
The involvement of Penske and Hendrick, two figures who have historically maintained a close working relationship with NASCAR leadership while also operating highly successful independent entities, adds a layer of complexity to the proceedings. Their reluctance to be drawn into the dispute, particularly concerning their internal business operations, underscores the sensitive nature of proprietary information in the highly competitive world of professional motorsports. The court’s decision on the scope of their depositions will be a critical development in this high-stakes legal battle.
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