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In Monday’s legal NASCAR filing, 23XI Racing requested the Western District of North Carolina court to take Rick Hendrick and Roger Penske through a thorough deposition before they stand on the witness stand during the upcoming antitrust trial, scheduled for December 1.Renowned journalist and NASCAR insider Jeff Gluck of The Athletic recently revealed the reason why the situation is not working out well for Hendrick and Penske on X. According to the post, the automotive tycoons might have even pushed back on appearing for their deposition interviews. Gluck also stated the possible reason for the same and wrote,“Hendrick and Penske do not want to testify at all, but asked the court to prevent the teams from asking them about some of their business topics. The problem is both men submitted declarations on behalf of NASCAR, which then opened them up to becoming witnesses in the case -- and they told the teams they had no intention to testify.”"Hendrick and Penske then asked that the topics in the deposition are limited, but the teams are asking the court to reject that request," Gluck further added.However, NASCAR included both men on the witness list in last week's filing. At the time, the attorney for NASCAR mentioned that Mr. Rick Hendrick and Mr. Roger Penske had agreed to testify in court, all thanks to a personal request from Mr. Jim France himself, the current CEO of NASCAR.NASCAR calls out plaintiff’s “eleventh-hour” demands ahead of upcoming December 1 trialWhen 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports said that they wanted to have Rick Hendrick and Roger Penske on the witness stand for the December 1 trial, NASCAR was quick to weigh in on the same.In one of its recent filings, NASCAR pointed out that Hendrick and Penske had always supported the antitrust lawsuit. Which means that legally, they do not have any basis to complain about the admission of their testimony at trial. On that note, NASCAR said in a statement,“Plaintiffs should not be able to detail the testimony of Messrs. Hendrick and Penske based on eleventh-hour demands for new information.”“Plaintiffs have repeatedly touted both in this litigation and publicly that the declarations of Messrs. Penske and Hendrick supported plaintiffs’ case… so, plaintiffs have no basis to complain about the admission of that testimony at trial,” the statement further read.The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series will return to active racing on February 15. The season will kick off officially with the crown jewel Daytona 500, returning for its 68th iteration. Fans can watch the race live on FOX Sports or listen to its live radio updates on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. However, the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on February 1 will mark the unofficial start to the 2026 season.
