In a tense Charlotte courtroom in December 2025, Denny Hamlin ignited a storm of controversy during NASCAR’s antitrust proceedings, dropping a startling text message that took everyone by surprise. The Denny Hamlin NASCAR courtroom drama quickly escalated, turning what started as routine legal arguments into one of the most memorable moments in recent racing history.
Denny Hamlin Faces Off Against NASCAR’s Legal Team
The session began with an expectant audience anticipating standard discussions about team charters and legal specifics, but Hamlin, co-owner of 23XI Racing, defied expectations by speaking with pointed candor. NASCAR’s attorney, Lawrence Buterman, pressed Hamlin from multiple angles, focusing on contracts, financial splits, and exclusivity rules within teams like Hamlin’s own. Rather than backing down, Hamlin met each with direct, memorable remarks that underlined the pressure in the room.
An especially repeated accusation stood out, as Hamlin turned the monopoly argument against NASCAR, declaring,
“We’re not a monopoly, you are.”
— Denny Hamlin, 23XI Racing co-owner. The phrase echoed throughout the courtroom, emphasizing the combative nature of the cross-examination.
Buterman challenged 23XI’s reasons for refusing to sign the new charter agreement, but Hamlin dismissed NASCAR’s offers as inconsequential, especially criticizing the proposed seven-year flat payment structure as being far from adequate. The debate intensified as he likened the team’s lack of true ownership to perpetually renting a house without being allowed significant control, and openly criticized the Team Owner Council, referring to it as insubstantial and lacking in real influence.
“Anytime they feel threatened, they create a committee to make it look collaborative, but there’s no vote, no veto, no power.”
— Denny Hamlin, 23XI Racing co-owner.
With every volley from Buterman, Hamlin responded with sarcasm and biting insight, even joking about the possibility of NASCAR suddenly assigning races in locations like Dubai without input from the teams.
The Unexpected Revelation of Hamlin’s Text to Michael Jordan
As the back-and-forth continued, the courtroom was stunned when Buterman presented a private text from Hamlin to team partner and basketball legend Michael Jordan, in which Hamlin urged Jordan to find a buyer for his stake in 23XI Racing. The impact was immediate; the air in the room changed as the reality of internal team discord surfaced in a very public way. Hamlin, however, quickly clarified the intent behind the message. He explained that his plea for a buyout was a means to prompt the team’s owners to recognize the seriousness of his concerns, not a sign of wanting out entirely. The episode, he said, amounted to a typical disagreement found in any business partnership, emphasizing that things eventually improved after open communication.
This moment shifted attention from dry legalities to personal stakes, revealing the human dimension behind the high-profile fight over NASCAR’s structure and control. The presence of notable figures like Michael Jordan, mentioned in court and captured in photos at public events, only broadened the interest in the proceedings.
Further Critiques and Glimpses Behind the Scenes
The day wasn’t short on further drama. When a question arose about NASCAR’s Driver Ambassador Program, Hamlin acknowledged the financial benefits but made it clear he finds the program deeply flawed. The setup requires teams to lend their drivers to promote sponsors, but forces them to surrender a significant portion of the earnings. In another exchange, when Buterman provocatively asked,
“So you don’t want drivers to get paid?”
— Lawrence Buterman, NASCAR attorney — Hamlin countered promptly,
“Teams pay drivers, not NASCAR. And most drivers don’t win the number of races I do.”
— Denny Hamlin, 23XI Racing co-owner.
Throughout the day’s testimony, Hamlin’s fiery assertions and willingness to confront the sport’s establishment turned routine witness questioning into a full-blown showdown, matching the emotional and competitive energy typically found on the racetrack. Adam Stern of the sports media captured the sense of intensity, reporting,
“.@NASCAR‘s intense cross-examination of @DennyHamlin concluded early this PM, after NASCAR external counsel Lawrence Buterman tried to pick apart Hamlin’s words in recent years to assert that 23XI and Hamlin and being inconsistent in accusing NASCAR of anti-competitive behavior. pic.twitter.com/ppMlPMu6r2.”
— Adam Stern, Sports Reporter
A Personal Chapter: Family, Resilience, and a Softer Side of Hamlin
While Hamlin locked horns with NASCAR’s lawyers, his fiancée, Jordan Fish, showcased a different side to their story. In June, as the public duel with NASCAR was warming up, Hamlin missed a major race in Mexico to be at Jordan’s side in the delivery room as she gave birth to their son, Jameson Drew. Fish described the birth as chaotic but joyful, full of laughter and light moments, despite the complications. Throughout the hours-long process, Hamlin was hands-on and supportive, showing care by providing water, applying lip balm, and keeping spirits high, even drawing a round of laughter from the medical team when Fish, under medication, offered a witty reply as to how she was feeling.
The experience contrasted sharply with Hamlin’s high-pressure role in the courtroom, highlighting the personal strains and joys that exist alongside his public battles with NASCAR and the internal negotiations with people like Michael Jordan. The couple’s family dynamic, involving children Taylor and Molly and the newest addition, Jameson, served as a reminder that, for Hamlin, life’s most significant moments sometimes happen far from the spectacle of sports and litigation.
Bigger Picture: What This Moment Means for NASCAR
The events in the Charlotte courtroom exposed not just the legal complexities and economic stakes at play in top-level racing, but also the personal drama that permeates these disputes. Figures like Denny Hamlin, Michael Jordan, and Lawrence Buterman are now part of a narrative that stretches far beyond the track, and the fallout from Hamlin’s candid testimony and the revelation of his text message is likely to echo through future negotiations and the sport’s broader efforts at governance.
For now, the Denny Hamlin NASCAR courtroom drama has demonstrated the emotional turbulence and intensity inherent in resolving questions of power and fairness in elite sports, and it remains to be seen how NASCAR, its teams, and its stars will move forward from such a public, hard-fought confrontation.
.@NASCAR's intense cross-examination of @DennyHamlin concluded early this PM, after NASCAR external counsel Lawrence Buterman tried to pick apart Hamlin's words in recent years to assert that 23XI and Hamlin and being inconsistent in accusing NASCAR of anti-competitive behavior. pic.twitter.com/ppMlPMu6r2
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) December 2, 2025
