Over a year after the initial lawsuit was filed, 23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports and NASCAR finally hit the courtroom in their antitrust case on Monday.

23XI and Front Row decided to sue NASCAR in October 2024 after refusing to sign up to the new Cup Series charter agreement, alleging anti-competitive and monopolistic practices.

After going back and forth all season in court over several issues in the build-up to the trial and pre-trial mediation, no settlement agreement between the two parties was reached. As such, it was back to court on Monday for the case itself to be heard.

Michael Jordan superfans rejected from lawsuit jury

It was a busy opening day in court in North Carolina, although there were some fascinating bumps along the way, including the ejection of some Michael Jordan superfans from the jury!

One of the first responsibilities for Judge Bell on Monday was to determine the jurors for the case, with 19 prospective candidates to choose from.

Some, though, were clearly not able to be selected due to their bias, and with the case taking place in North Carolina - the state where Jordan grew up and went to college - it wasn't hard to find them.

Two jurors were dismissed, for example, after admitting that their fandom for Jordan would make it difficult for them to remain impartial in the case.

One of the prospective jurors even admitted to having had posters of Jordan on his wall growing up, and said he was excited to get back home and tell his family about his day out in court. Another admitted 'I like Mike' before he was dismissed, pumping his fist at Jordan as he left the courtroom.

It wasn't only pro-Jordan/23XI prospective jury members that were dismissed, however. Among the 19 candidates, one woman confessed that she was a diehard Hendrick Motorsports fan, and that her negative opinion of 23XI co-owner Denny Hamlin - who races for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Cup Series - would impact her impartiality.

In the end, Judge Bell settled on a jury of nine in total - six men and three women.

Michael Jordan's eight-word message

Having spoken after previous court appearances ahead of the trial, Jordan kept his opinions on how things unfolded on day one very much to himself at the end of the day.

“I can’t comment. They told me to shut up," the 23XI co-owner was quoted by the Charlotte Observer when leaving the courtroom.

The case continues on Tuesday, with Hamlin set to deliver the rest of his testimony - some of which was delivered late on Monday.