The 2025 NASCAR season may be over, but the biggest storyline of the year is still front page news.

Next Monday - December 1 - NASCAR is set to go to trial with the 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports teams in a bitter antitrust suit.

The fact that 23XI is co-owned by basketball legend Michael Jordan and current driving great Denny Hamlin just adds more spice and star power to a case which already had the potential to turn the sport upside down.

As the two sides prepare to do battle in the courtroom in Charlotte, The Athletic insider Jordan Bianchi joined the Kenny Wallace Youtube channel to talk about the implications of defeat for either side.

What happens if NASCAR loses?

Bianchi told host John Roberts: “It could change [the sport] a significant way. If NASCAR loses this, they could theoretically be ordered to sell the tracks they own. The judge could theoretically rip up the charter agreement.

“Now he may institute some other level of a charter system, but he also could just say ‘This charter system’s gone, you’re going to have to start from scratch’. And then if that’s the case the teams that have paid many millions of dollars charters would theoretically be out that money.

“And that could potentially impact TV contracts, because how are those written and that kind of thing? So there’s all sorts of different dominoes on how this would fall:

“How does the power structure with NASCAR work? Does the France family still control everything? Are they still making the grand decisions? Is this still a private business per se where they get to dictate how this is going to go forward? Or do they now have to bring in everybody else and does this become more of a league type structure like we see in the NFL and Major League Baseball and the such.”

What happens if 23XI and Front Row lose?

After looking at the potential negative implications for NASCAR, Bianchi turned his attention to what defeat might look like for 23XI and Front Row.

“If 23XI and Front Row lose, it’s fair to say that those teams are likely not going to be around any more. They’re out their six charters, which they have paid millions of dollars for, and they will be reimbursed for that I believe, don’t hold me to that. But they would effectively be out of the business.

“Both teams have said if we don’t have charters, we’re not going to race, and so NASCAR then is going to lose two teams, one of which is co-owned by Michael Jordan. The impact of this, potentially one way or the other, is very significant.”

Now we are just days away from that court date in Charlotte, and a year out from when this lawsuit was filed. Bianchi still hopes that a settlement will be reached, but he is now by no means certain.

“That all being said, you would hope that cooler heads will prevail and that they will come to a settlement, but I’ve been saying that for the last year since this lawsuit was filed.”