Michael Jordan and fellow team owners are heading to federal court for an antitrust hearing against NASCAR.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Retired NBA great Michael Jordan and his fellow owners of two NASCAR teams went to federal court Monday for a hearing. their antitrust fight against the stock car series due to what they say is an unfair business model.

23XI Racing, owned by Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and Front Row Motorsports, owned by restaurant entrepreneur Bob Jenkins, sued NASCAR and chairman Jim France in October after months of intense negotiations over NASCAR’s charter system, which is essentially a franchising model that includes revenue sharing.

Both teams claim that NASCAR made a take-it-or-leave-it offer to all Cup Series teams in September that both 23XI and Front Row refused to sign. Owners argue that the charter system restricts competition by unfairly locking teams into the series. his traces and its suppliers, and they called the France family and NASCAR “monopoly bullies.”

The fight continues as NASCAR approaches its championship weekend, with the decisive title race set for Sunday in Phoenix, where 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick will be among four drivers who could win.

U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney last week denied 23XI and Front Row’s request to expedite NASCAR’s production of documents ahead of a preliminary injunction hearing on Monday.

“While the proposed discovery requests may help plaintiffs demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits, they are not narrowly focused enough,” Whitney wrote.

Jordan, Hamlin and 23XI’s Curtis Polk were joined by Jenkins and Front Row President Jerry Freese for the hearing, which is critical to how next season will play out for the two teams.

23XI and Front Row can still compete next year, but as open teams. They claim they can even compete under NASCAR’s open team agreement. There’s a clause there that exempts NASCAR from any future litigation, so both teams want an injunction to keep their current lawsuit pending during the race.

The teams argued that the injunction would not harm NASCAR since the series planned to have 36 charter teams and allow them to compete as charter teams while the lawsuit maintained the status quo.

NASCAR now says it plans to run 32 charter teams and eight open cars (up from four) in its 40-car field each week. 23XI and Front Row currently have two charters they have not signed, and both have deals with Stewart-Haas Racing to purchase one charter each.

Those deals have not yet closed, and NASCAR has said it will not recognize the sales. NASCAR says it is in compliance with only 32 charter agreements signed in September.

NASCAR argues that both teams do not qualify for an injunction because they can still compete as open teams and that any damages they suffer if they win the case can be covered monetarily.

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