Judge Bell NASCAR and 23XI-FRM of “Jury Revolt” as Witness Testimony’s Drags On

The judge of the NASCAR charter lawsuit Kenneth D Bell has given a strong warning to the lawyers regarding the jury as trial drags on.

Judge Bell NASCAR and 23XI-FRM of “Jury Revolt” as Witness Testimony’s Drags On

Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan (via Newsweek), Steve Phelps (via imago)

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The whole focus of the NASCAR community is at Charlotte this week, as the charter lawsuit trial finished day four. 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports joined forces last year to sue the premier stick car racing associating alleging monopoly, after refusing to sign the new charter deal. Since the trial started on December 1st, the proceeding Judge Kenneth D Bell has kept both parties on their toes.

Alongside giving a fair verdict, one of the significant goal the judge has set for the trail was finishing the whole proceedings fast and efficient. But the lawyers of NASCAR and teams seem to have made this mission impossible. The witness’s testimony has been dragged in for days with only the big names like Denny Hamlin, Bob Jenkins and Steve O’Donell getting questioned.

The likes of Hall of Fame team owner Richard Childress, Roger Penske and Rick Hendrick are yet to be questioned, with reports suggesting their statements as well as cross-examination is going to cost more time. This got the attention of the Judge, and he has sent a big warning to both set of lawyers about it.

He reminded them they need to be faster with the witnesses and cross-emanation as things are getting dragged too long than planned. He reminded that the witnesses should respond fasters and should not deny basic facts, as he expects a revolt from jury. The jurors are sacrificing their personal time for the court and there should be a limit to how much investment are asked of them.

Judge Bell has issued a warning to both sides to pick up the pace. The trial cannot drag to three weeks long, or the jury will revolt. He says both sides need to instruct their witnesses to just quickly answer hard questions instead of trying to deny obvious facts, and that exhibits need to stop beating horses past their death date.

Toby Christie of Racing America reported on X.

FRM owner makes massive revelation about NASCAR Next-Gen car repair cost

During his witness testimony, the majority owner of Front Row Motorsports Bob Jenkins shared some significant details regarding the cost he incur while operating the team. One of the majors talking point regarding the new car was it will reduce the cost. Unfortunately, it hasn’t happened, as nowadays it costs $4.7 million on parts compared to the $1.8 million in the previous era.

Bob Jenkins
Bob Jenkins (Via IMAGO)

This on a car that teams don’t own anything and has to buy supplies from single source vendors who bill them huge sums. It was shocking when Jenkins revealed that it cost the team around $30k to repair a non-wrecked car after a race. These fixes happen back in the shop of the single source vendors and small teams have almost no control.

The other revelations were regarding the massive loss his team FRM has every year, as the veteran owner admitted that he has never made a profit despite having the team for over a decade. Over the years, his passion cost him $6.8 million loss per year. The fact that he has fielded cars without sponsors in nine races in 2025 shows how bad the situation is.

The sponsorship market has become more challenging for the small teams like FRM that does not have the star driver and limited human resources. Many teams over the years have ceased their operation for the same reason, including the giants like Stewart Haas Racing. This gives a lot of validity to the teams in the lawsuit, but isn’t enough evidence to make a difference.

Also Read: Judge Bell Threatened NASCAR Lawyers with Severe Punishments over Court Rule Breach