'I didn't want to tear it down.' Michael Jordan, Jim France see a new day in NASCAR.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A few minutes after it was official — that the antitrust trial that pitted NASCAR against two of its premier series teams concluded with a sudden settlement on Thursday — a powerful image assembled.

An image that might endure in NASCAR lore forever.

On the top step was Michael Jordan, the sports icon who’s pretty much peerless in athletic notoriety, cultural purchase and accomplishment. To Jordan’s immediate left stood Jim France, the CEO and chairman of NASCAR, son of the sport’s founder Bill France Sr., the giant in American stock car racing. The two stood together in the public’s view for the first time in months.

They were engulfed in reporters and cameras, and they were encircled by lawyers and trusted advisors, and one towered over the other — but they were together, aware of their common ground, determined to leave the hostilities behind in Charlotte’s U.S. District Court, where they’d just left.

“Well, I grew up watching it, and his father built this sport,” Jordan said of their love for NASCAR. “I didn’t want to have to tear it down. I don’t think he wanted it to be torn down. But I think under calmer circumstances we actually (rediscovered) what our interests were, collectively, and at the end of the day, we reached some kind of compromise.

“And to me, that’s in every negotiation, that’s in every agreement. I’m very happy we are standing on this step: moving forward instead of moving separately.”

Such was the theme of all the voices emerging from the trial on Thursday morning, just past 10:30 a.m. Even District Judge Kenneth Bell, who’d presided over the lawsuit for the bulk of its existence since it was filed in October 2024, said for the record that he was pleased with the grounds of resolution and said as much after the day broke.

There was triumph. There was relief. There was a new development in NASCAR’s current model of business, yes — but not one unrecognizable from the one before, as was threatened, as was very much possible.

And then there was this image: of Jordan, of France, of a new day in NASCAR — but with the enterprise of American stock car racing still very much intact.

A year-long legal battle comes to a close

Once Jordan and France and everyone else found their places on the steps of the court that houses the proceedings for the Western District of North Carolina — from Jordan’s co-owner Denny Hamlin, to both legal counsels, to the other shareholder of France Enterprises with Jim, Lesa France Kennedy — everyone seemed to take a collective breath.

Jeffrey Kessler kicked off the celebration. He was the lead attorney for the plaintiffs who was charged, at least at the beginning of trial Dec. 1, with persuading the nine-member jury that NASCAR represented an unlawful monopoly.

He preferred this outcome, though, he said.

“We are delighted to tell the world of NASCAR and its fans that this case has been settled,” Kessler said. “We believe that it’s a settlement that’s going to grow this sport, that’s going to be great for teams and for NASCAR, but most importantly for the fans.

“This case was filed 15 months ago. This was never just about 23XI. It was never just about Front Row. It was about trying to do something that would be great for everyone. And as part of this deal, we are going to have evergreen charters. They’re going to be for everyone.”

Kessler was referring to the 2025 charter agreement, the document that kickstarted this legal battle over a year ago. The teams wanted an asset that couldn’t be taken away from them — one that could appreciate or depreciate in value as the sport fares over time. The teams won that. Jordan said the teams found compromises to make such a desire a reality, though the financial terms of the settlement are confidential and will not be disclosed, NASCAR said in a statement.

After Kessler was Lawrence Buterman, one of the lead attorneys for the defendants. He echoed that “NASCAR has always” fought for “the preservation of the charter system.” Then John E. Stephenson, a personal attorney of the France family, said that “we are glad to put this behind us in this lawsuit: to lock arms, move together.”

Added Buterman: “And we look forward to seeing everybody at Bowman Gray and Daytona.”

‘We can get back focusing on what we really love’

It’s not a secret that Jordan is a competitor. The six-time NBA champion referenced that side of himself on Thursday.

“We’re competitors, and we’d like to get as much in each other’s favor,” he said. “But I think, collectively — I don’t think Jim was in opposition to me — the fans were always going to be the best solution to this whole process. I’ve said this from Day One, the only this sport’s going to grow is if we find some synergy between the two entities. And I think we’ve gotten to that point.

“Unfortunately it took 16 months to get here. Level heads just got us to this point, where we can work together and grow this sport. I’m very proud of that. I think Jim feels the same.”

France chimed in.

“I do feel the same,” he said. “We can get back to focusing on what we really love, which is racing. We’ve spent a lot of time not really focused on that so much. Not as much as we need to be. I feel like we’ve made a very good decision here, together, and we have a big opportunity to continue growing the sport.

“We’ve got Denny getting ready to go for a championship. We need to focus on what we all love.”

Why did this happen today and not earlier? Jordan responded with a smile, “Level heads.”

Was the lawsuit, the acrimonious hearings, the trial all worth it? Jordan crinkled his forehead: “We had to work together. Compromise in every negotiation is one of the toughest things that you could do. And I think you could say we both compromised our agendas, and we both concluded that this was best for the sport.”

After a handful of swift questions, and after a handshake with Lesa France Kennedy, Jordan’s colleagues swept him into one of four black SUVs waiting for him outside the courthouse. One fan got a selfie with him. Another screamed from a distance — “Thanks for the memories, Mike!” — as has become custom every day after the trial, all of them wanting to be in his orbit.

Hamlin — who has seen a friendship with Jordan get struck up into a partnership to form this race team, his legacy once his driving career is done — offered a final word.

“Everything within this settlement is going to grow the sport,” he said. “And it’s going to be better for everyone. There’s no doubt about it.”