DOVER, Del. (AP) NASCAR race team owner Denny Hamlin remained undeterred in the wake of another setback in court, vowing all will be exposed in the scheduled December trial as part of 23XI Racings federal antitrust suit against the auto racing series.
A federal judge on Thursday rejected a request from 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports to continue racing with charters while they battle NASCAR in court, meaning their six cars will race as open entries this weekend at Dover, next week at Indianapolis and perhaps longer than that in a move the teams say would put them at risk of going out of business.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell denied the teams bid for a temporary restraining order, saying they will make races over the next couple of weeks and they wont lose their drivers or sponsors before his decision on a preliminary injunction.
Bell left open the possibility of reconsidering his decision if things change over the next two weeks.
After this weekend, the cars affected may need to qualify on speed if 41 entries are listed a possibility now that starting spots have opened.
The case has a Dec. 1 trial date, but the two teams are fighting to be recognized as chartered for the current season, which has 16 races left. A charter guarantees one of the 40 spots in the field each week, but also a base amount of money paid out each week.
If you want answers, you want to understand why all this is happening, come Dec. 1, youll get the answers that youre looking for, Hamlin said Saturday at Dover Motor Speedway. All will be exposed.
23XI, which is co-owned by retired NBA great Michael Jordan, and FRM filed their federal suit against NASCAR last year after they were the only two organizations out of 15 to reject NASCARs extension offer on charters.
Jordan and FRM owner Bob Jenkins won an injunction to recognize 23XI and FRM as chartered for the season, but the ruling was overturned on appeal earlier this month, sending the case back to Bell.
Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 winner driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, co-owns 23XI with Jordan and said they were prepared to send Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace and Riley Herbst to the track each week as open teams. They sought the restraining order Monday, claiming that through discovery they learned NASCAR planned to immediately begin the process of selling the six charters which would put plaintiffs in irreparable jeopardy of never getting their charters back and going out of business.
Hamlin said none of the setbacks have made him second-guess the decision to file the lawsuit.
Dec. 1 is all that matters. Mark your calendar, Hamlin said. Id love to be doing other things. Ive got a lot going on. When I get in the car (today), nothing else is going to matter other than that. I always give my team 100%. I always prepare whether I have side jobs, side hustles, more kids, that all matters, but I always give my team all the time that they need to make sure that when I step in, Im 100% committed.
Reddick, who has a clause that allows him to become a free agent if the team loses its charter, declined comment Saturday on all questions connected to his future and the lawsuit. Hamlin also declined to comment on Reddicks future with 23XI Racing.
Reddick, one of four drivers left in NASCARs $1 million In-season Challenge , was last years regular-season champion and raced for the Cup Series championship in the season finale. But none of the six drivers affected by the court ruling are locked into this years playoffs.
Making the field wont be an issue this weekend at Dover as fewer than the maximum 40 cars are entered. But should 41 cars show up anywhere this season, someone slow will be sent home and that means lost revenue and a lost chance to win points in the standings.
Nothing changes from my end, obviously, and nothing changes from inside the shop, Front Row Motorsports driver Zane Smith said. Theres not typically even enough cars to worry about transferring in.
Smith, 24th in the standings and someone who would likely need a win to qualify for NASCARs playoffs, said he stood behind Jenkins in his acrimonious legal fight that has loomed over the stock car series for months.
I leave all that up to them, Smith said, but my job is to go get the 38 the best finish I can.
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AP Auto Racing Writer Jenna Fryer contributed to this story.
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AP auto racing:
特拉华州多佛市（美联社）——NASCAR赛车队老板丹尼·哈姆林在法庭再次受挫后仍不退缩，他誓言在12月的庭审中“一切将水落石出”。该庭审是23XI车队针对该赛车系列提起的联邦反垄断诉讼的一部分。
周四，一名联邦法官驳回了23XI车队和前沿赛车运动（Front Row Motorsports）的请求，即在法庭上与纳斯卡（NASCAR）抗争期间继续使用特许经营权参赛。这意味着他们的六辆赛车本周末将在多佛站、下周在印第安纳波利斯站以非特许车队身份参赛，且可能持续更长时间。车队表示，这一决定可能使他们面临倒闭风险。
美国地区法官肯尼思·贝尔驳回了车队提出的临时限制令申请，并表示未来几周内比赛仍将照常进行，且在他对初步禁令作出裁决前，车队不会失去车手或赞助商。
贝尔表示，如果未来两周情况有变，他可能会重新考虑自己的决定。
本周末过后，若报名车辆达到41辆（由于首发位置空缺，这一情况可能出现），受影响的赛车可能需要通过速度排位赛来获得参赛资格。
此案定于12月1日开庭审理，但两支车队正竭力争取获得本赛季剩余16场比赛的特许参赛资格。特许资格不仅确保车队每周能占据40个参赛席位之一，还可获得每周固定金额的收益分成。
“如果你想要答案，想了解这一切为何发生，12月1日那天，你将得到你寻求的答案，”哈姆林周六在多佛汽车赛道表示，“一切都会揭晓。”
由NBA传奇球星迈克尔·乔丹（Michael Jordan）共同拥有的23XI车队及FRM车队，去年对NASCAR提起了联邦诉讼。这两支车队是15支车队中仅有的两家拒绝NASCAR特许经营权续约提议的机构。
乔丹与FRM车队老板鲍勃·詹金斯（Bob Jenkins）曾获得临时禁令，使23XI和FRM车队本赛季的参赛资格得到承认，但该裁决于本月早些时候被上诉法院推翻，案件被发回贝尔法官重新审理。
效力于乔·吉布斯车队的**三届戴通纳500冠军**得主**哈姆林**与**乔丹**共同拥有23XI车队。他表示，车队已准备好每周派遣**泰勒·雷迪克**、**布巴·华莱士**和**莱利·赫布斯特**以公开车队身份参赛。本周一，他们申请了禁令，声称通过证据开示程序获悉，NASCAR计划立即启动出售六张特许经营权的程序，这将使��原告陷入无法挽回的困境——既永久丧失特许经营权，又面临倒闭风险。��
哈姆林表示，尽管遭遇种种挫折，但他从未对提起诉讼的决定产生过动摇。
“12月1日才是重中之重，把这一天标在你的日历上，”哈姆林说道，“我当然希望能做些别的事情，手头确实有很多事要处理。但当我今天坐进赛车，其他一切就都不重要了。我总是百分百投入团队工作，无论兼职副业、家庭琐事还是养育更多孩子——这些固然重要，但我始终确保为团队留出充足时间。只要我参与其中，必定全情投入。”
雷迪克（Reddick）的合同中有一项条款规定，若车队失去特许经营权，他将成为自由球员。上周六，他拒绝就所有涉及个人未来及诉讼的问题置评。哈姆林（Hamlin）同样拒绝对雷迪克在23XI车队的未来发表评论。
雷迪克（Reddick）是NASCAR百万美元赛季中期挑战赛中仅存的四位车手之一，他曾是去年常规赛的冠军，并在赛季总决赛中角逐杯赛总冠军。然而，受法院裁决影响的六名车手均未锁定今年季后赛的参赛资格。
本周末在多佛赛道，由于参赛车辆不足40辆上限，入围正赛将不成问题。但若本赛季任何赛事出现41辆赛车报名的情况，速度最慢的车队将被迫退赛，这意味着他们将损失参赛收入，并错失在积分榜上斩获积分的机会。
“显然，我这边没有任何变化，车间内部也没有任何变化，”弗龙特罗赛车运动车手赞恩·史密斯表示，“通常甚至没有足够的车辆需要担心转运问题。”
目前在积分榜上排名第24位的史密斯表示，他支持詹金斯这场已持续数月的激烈法律斗争。史密斯若想获得NASCAR季后赛资格，很可能需要一场胜利。
“我把这些都交给他们处理，”史密斯说，“但我的任务是尽我所能让38号取得最好成绩。”
美联社赛车专栏作家詹娜·弗赖尔（Jenna Fryer）对本文亦有贡献。
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