Judge Sides with 23XI: Orders Hendrick and Penske to Sit for Depositions
The courtroom drama is heating up and two of the biggest names in NASCAR are being pulled right into the middle of it. Rick Hendrick of Hendrick Motorsports and Roger Penske of Team Penske, two titans of the sport, are now legally required to be deposed in the antitrust lawsuit filed against NASCAR.
This isn’t just some side-show. This is a main event with massive implications for the future of stock car racing.U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell laid down the law, denying the team owners’ request to sidestep the depositions. You can almost hear the gavel slam.
Both Hendrick and Penske, men who have built empires and are enshrined in the NASCAR Hall of Fame, had hoped to limit their involvement. They filed motions to quash the subpoenas, arguing that they shouldn’t have to testify or, at the very least, their testimony should be strictly confined to the nitty-gritty of the charter system and the Next Gen car.
But Judge Bell wasn’t having any of it. In a ruling that echoed through the Charlotte legal corridors, he made it crystal clear: no one gets special treatment. “No company or individual will be accorded special treatment [which is effectively what movants request here],” he wrote. The message was loud and clear. If you’re on the witness list, you’re in the hot seat. And since NASCAR itself put Hendrick and Penske on its list of potential trial witnesses, the door was wide open for the opposition.
Team Penske and Hendrick Motorsports Take Center Stage
This whole legal battle was kicked off in October 2024 when 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports filed a joint antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR. They’re challenging the very structure of the sport, arguing that the current system is anti-competitive.
With a trial date looming on December 1, every move is critical, and getting to question the two most powerful team owners in the garage is a massive strategic win for the plaintiffs.It’s a tangled web. Both Team Penske and Hendrick Motorsports had previously provided signed declarations in support of NASCAR.
They put their names on paper to back the sanctioning body, but they clearly wanted to draw a line in the sand right there. The feeling was they’d said their piece and wanted to get back to the business of winning races. Now, they’re being dragged deeper into a fight that pits team owners against the very organization that governs them.
The raw emotion here is to be expected. For years, there have been whispers and grumbles in the garage about fairness and the financial model of NASCAR. Now, it’s all spilling out into a public courtroom. This isn’t just about contracts and charters.
It’s about power, money, and the soul of the sport. Having Hendrick and Penske, pillars of the NASCAR establishment, forced to testify under oath is a dramatic turn of events. Their words will carry immense weight and could potentially shape the outcome of this landmark case.
The High-Stakes Deposition of NASCAR’s Power Brokers
Judge Bell’s ruling essentially states that as long as NASCAR plans to potentially call Hendrick and Penske to the stand at trial, the opposing side has every right to question them beforehand. “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,” he declared.
It’s a classic legal maneuver, putting the ball squarely back in NASCAR’s court. Do they protect their key allies from a grueling deposition, or do they keep them as potential aces up their sleeve for the trial?For fans, this is more than just a legal headline. This is the inner workings of the sport we love being exposed.
Final Thoughts
The looming deposition for Hendrick Motorsports and Team Penske is only a small piece of what’s peeling back the curtain on the tense negotiations and high-stakes business decisions. Both names are synonymous with excellence and victory in the NASCAR world. Seeing them embroiled in a legal battle like this adds a layer of human drama that’s as compelling as any drama on the track.
