Michael Jordan's legal battle with NASCAR is going to federal court on Monday. The jury trial could shake up the top motorsports series in the U.S.

The NBA legend, 62, was seen arriving at the Western District of North Carolina for a trial that could change NASCAR forever. The antitrust claims, brought by Jordan's 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, have revealed some juicy personal messages, NASCAR's financial details, and a lot of bad blood between some of the sport's top people and those who participate in it.

Denny Hamlin, who co-owns 23XI with Jordan and almost won the Cup Series championship recently, said that things will get real during the two-week trial.

Our fans have been fed NASCAR's talking points for years, Hamlin posted on social media. The lies end Monday morning. It's time for the truth. It's time for a change.

NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps said that the series tried its best to settle the case before the trial.

The lawsuit was filed by 23XI Racing, owned by Jordan, Hamlin, and Jordan's longtime business manager, Curtis Polk. They were joined by Front Row Motorsports, owned by Bob Jenkins, which won the 2021 Daytona 500. These two teams were the only ones out of 15 that didn't agree to renew their charter agreements with NASCAR in late 2024.

All 15 teams had been pushing for better terms in the charter agreements for over two years. The final terms didn't quite meet their expectations. 23XI and Front Row accused NASCAR of being a monopoly and sued based on antitrust laws.

The charter system, started in 2016, is like the franchise model used by most other pro sports leagues. A charter guarantees a car a spot in the 40-car field for every race, plus a set payout from the weekly prize money.

Even with the charters, the teams argue that the money setup isn't working. They wanted the charters to be permanent (right now, they can be renewed or taken away), a bigger cut of the revenue, and a say in how things are run.

23XI and Front Row didn't think the new charter agreements did enough to meet those needs, so they didn't sign. They say NASCAR has too much control over the racing series and allege a monopoly based on exclusive deals, owning most of the race tracks, and controlling the rules.

23XI and Front Row also want a lot of money from NASCAR to cover their legal fees and the money they've lost this year from not having charters.

NASCAR, founded 76 years ago by the France family, says it hasn't broken antitrust law because it hasn't done anything to limit trade beyond normal business practices.

NASCAR says that payouts in the 2025 charter agreement went up, which shows it's not anticompetitive. They also point out that cars can enter races as open teams and try to qualify for one of the four spots for non-chartered teams. 23XI and Front Row have been open teams, and while their six cars made every race, it cost them millions in prize money.

The legal process before the trial showed that NASCAR made over $100 million in 2024.

The legal discovery phase has been tough, with some embarrassing personal messages from NASCAR leaders and the two teams coming to light.

Phelps and other NASCAR leaders called Hall of Fame team owner Richard Childress a dinosaur, an idiot, and a stupid redneck. They also said Childress owes his entire fortune to NASCAR and needs to be taken out back and flogged.

Another NASCAR person said that fans of the sport aren't smart, and some series leaders criticised Hall of Fame driver Tony Stewart's summer racing series, SRX, and threatened to shut it down because NASCAR drivers were involved.

On the other side, the president of 23XI said that NASCAR chairman Jim France would have to die for them to get good charter terms. Hamlin admitted he doesn't like the France family, one of Jordan's advisors said Hamlin wasn't a good businessman, and Jordan joked that he loses more money in a casino than he pays one of his drivers.

NASCAR wants Rick Hendrick and Roger Penske, two of the most powerful team owners, to testify, but neither wants to. They've asked not to even be questioned, but if they have to be, they want the questions limited to charters.

Hendrick and Penske are among a lot of owners who have supported NASCAR in defence of the charter system. This shows that the teams that aren't suing don't want the charter system to be ended, which could happen if NASCAR loses the case.

But many of the team owners still said that the 2025 charter agreements don't give them everything they want.

Also, NASCAR has asked that Polk and Hamlin not be allowed to sit in court before they testify. A decision on that hadn't been made as of Sunday night.

Jordan, who is from North Carolina, got permission to be in the courtroom for the whole trial. A spokesperson for the two teams said that Jordan and Jenkins plan to be very involved in their case.

The case could still be settled at any time, even after a ruling is made and it goes to appeal.

If 23XI and Front Row win, the jury will decide how much money they get, and the judge can change that number and even triple it. The judge would also be in charge of fixing any monopoly that's found.

NASCAR could be ordered to have the France family sell the sport or the tracks it owns, end the charter system, or make the charters permanent. Anything is possible.

If NASCAR wins, 23XI and Front Row might not stay in business after 2026, and the six charters being held aside would likely be sold to others. The last charter sold for $45 million, and NASCAR says there's a lot of interest from potential buyers, including investment firms.