NASCAR strategist and Front Row owner testify in Day 3 of antitrust trial

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Day three of the NASCAR antitrust trial began with NASCAR chief strategist Scott Prime taking the stand Wednesday.

After Prime finished, Front Row Motorsports owner Bob Jenkins took the stand to finish the day — but there were some key developments after court adjourned.

Lead-Up to Day Three

The plaintiffs — 23XI and Front Row — indicated they intend to call team owner Richard Childress to testify, which is notable on a few fronts.

As an owner for more than 50 years and a driver for even longer, Childress brings a valuable perspective. He is also the subject of alleged text messages sent by NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps.

• Who is on the witness lists for the NASCAR antitrust trial?

After the second day of the trial, Hamlin made his own headline overnight with a late-night message on X.

My lawyers dont want me to tweet, Or X or whatever this is, but they are asleep. I just wanted to tell you that I love you guys and I will not stop fighting for you and what is right.

— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) December 3, 2025

NASCAR’s Scott Prime Testifies

After Jeffrey Kessler hit Scott Prime with questions revolving around his involvement in charter discussions and business strategy Tuesday, Kessler continued Wednesday on topics such as permanent charters to sponsor payouts as he took on the NASCAR business model in his testimony.

The initial conversation plunged towards the “goodwill provision.” It is essentially a noncompete clause where teams cannot race in other stock car-related series and use the NextGen car outside of NASCAR as well. Kessler seemingly wanted to call it an anticompetitive clause but an objection stopped it and Judge Bell allowed it.

Kessler’s early notion of antitrust cascaded down to his remaining topics of the morning session — NASCAR’s 10% ownership rule, single-sourced parts, team voting rights, gross revenue models and the potential of teams leaving to start their own series and tracks. Notably, Prime discussed how SMI tracks signed to “two-and-two” agreements where they’d host NASCAR races for two years but then wouldn’t be allowed to host any races “resembling NASCAR” for two years after that.

Prime said France wanted his own clauses in the final 2025 agreement. One clause pertaining to the France family having ownership of a charter and another one where a fine would be distributed to teams who voted more than three times on the charter agreement before a unanimous decision.

Those talking points had been established as a firm reason why the two teams on the opposing side rejected the final charter agreement.

Prime in the Afternoon

After a full morning session, it only took another hour for Scott Prime’s time on the stand to conclude.

NASCAR’s attorney started asking Prime about the benefits of the 2016 charter agreement and the potential benefits of the 2025 agreement. Then, they transitioned into concessions NASCAR made to benefit the sanctioning body.

When the notion of taking the number of charters from 36 down to 32 came about, Prime testified that “NASCAR cannot just take charters away and never intended to.”

Not to long after he provided a brief rebuttal regarding the earlier noted 2025 charter agreement clause additions from Jim France, Prime said, “I don’t believe that he works to enrich himself.”

After the Wednesday portion of the trial, NASCAR provided a recap of the day through their point of view:

Today’s testimony made clear that NASCAR engaged in a good-faith, multi-year negotiating effort that resulted in 13 of 15 racing teams signing the 2025 charter agreement.

• NASCAR EVP and Chief Strategy Officer Scott Prime recounted the dozens of meetings between the two sides over the course of two and a half years and confirmed that NASCAR made concessions throughout the process to help ensure a fair agreement.

• Prime discussed how NASCAR engaged with the Charter holders on 2025 Charter negotiations well in advance of the time required by the 2016 Charter. NASCAR continued to negotiate with the Charter teams even after the exclusive negotiation period. Prime testified that though NASCAR was allowed contractually to negotiate with non-Charter holders after the teams refused to extend the exclusive negotiating window, NASCAR continued to negotiate with the 2016 Charter holders to reach agreement on a new Charter. 

By Plaintiff’s trying to frame NASCAR’s final 2025 Charter proposal as a ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ or ‘gun-to-the-head’ offer, today’s testimony only confirmed that after over two years of negotiations, NASCAR sent a proposed Charter agreement to all teams on Aug. 30, made changes requested by teams and their outside counsel the following week, and then set a reasonable deadline for the parties to reach agreement on a new contract – a standard step in any negotiation.

Bob Jenkins Takes the Stand

Most of the attention during the beginning of the antitrust trial has been on NASCAR and 23XI but Front Row is just as important.

Owner Bob Jenkins candidly explained how “some people would call me redneck” and was Dale “Earnhardt’s biggest fan” before truly getting into the sport. He started as a charter member of his fan club eventually leading to a sponsorship opportunity through his Taco Bell franchise.

That lone sponsorship sparked an obsession with the sport which led the entrepreneur to Cup Series ownership.

After showing financials that detailed how the team lost a total of $16.3 million over the past three seasons, Kessler asked Jenkins about why he is still going. He explained that he tapped into lines of credit and believing they were “sitting on something special.”

Jenkins also shared about how the NextGen car upped the cost of parts from $1.8 million per year to $4.7 million per year — adding it costs “$30,000” to repair a non-wrecked car each week because of how they must send the nose and tail to the vendor because they “can’t repair it themselves.”

Jenkins added he doesn’t take a salary from the team, adding he has lost $6.8 million a year in operating costs — alongside the $20 million a year it takes to field a car. Testimony went through Matt Tifft’s FRM Cup contract that saw him pay $2.1 million — and Chandler Smith’s Truck contract that saw him pay $1.5 million for the ride while Ford paid them $1.175 million in 2025.

Jenkins said he put his own companies on the car in nine unsponsored races to avoid a blank car in 2025. They get no money from having Long John Silvers on the car or truck.

NASCAR’s attorney’s hit Jenkins on his financial woes before the charter system, showcasing the loss of millions and arguing he could not blame more losses on NASCAR itself. Jenkins said his losses only increased since then but NASCAR’s attorney hit back, saying how Front Row’s income “nearly doubled” since the original charter agreement — regardless of unsponsored races.

Testimony revealed sponsorships increased from $3.5 million in 2016 to $8.5 million in 2023 and that FRM has a organizational worth of $60.1 million.

Jenkins added, “This is not about bashing the France family,” saying they have had good ideas in the past but “this charter agreement is not one of them.”

Before the day truly wrapped up, Judge Bell concluded the day’s session with pointing out two violations NASCAR’s legal team made:

1. Trying to use a quote from Jeff Dickerson, deemed inadmissible prior to the trial
2. The addition of Bob Jenkins’ financial records from businesses outside of the NASCAR realm

Judge Bell threatened penalties for additional violations.