Hamlin undeterred by ruling siding with NASCAR in lawsuit filed by Jordan-owned 23XI and Front Row
BROOKLYN, Mich. (AP) — Denny Hamlin is unfazed that a three-judge federal appellate panel vacated an injunction that required NASCAR to recognize 23XI, which he owns with Michael Jordan, and Front Row as chartered teams as part of an antitrust lawsuit.
'That's just such a small part of the entire litigation,' Hamlin said Saturday, a day ahead of the FireKeepers Casino 400. 'I'm not deterred at all. We're in good shape.'
Hamlin said Jordan feels the same way.
'He just remains very confident, just like I do,' Hamiln said.
NASCAR has not commented on the latest ruling.
23XI and Front Row sued NASCAR late last year after refusing to sign new agreements on charter renewals. They asked for a temporary injunction that would recognize them as chartered teams for this season, but the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, on Thursday ruled in NASCAR's favor.
'We're looking at all options right now,' Hamlin said.
The teams, each winless this year, said they needed the injunction because the current charter agreement prohibits them from suing NASCAR. 23XI also argued it would be harmed because Tyler Reddick's contract would have made him a free agent if the team could not guarantee him a charter-protected car.
Hamlin insisted he's not worried about losing drivers because of the uncertainty.
'I'm not focused on that particularly right this second,' he said.
Reddick, who was last year's regular-season champion and competed for the Cup title in November, enters the race Sunday at Michigan ranked sixth in the Cup Series standings.
The charter system is similar to franchises in other sports, but the charters are revocable by NASCAR and have expiration dates.
The six teams may have to compete as 'open' cars and would have to qualify on speed each week to make the race and would receive a fraction of the money.
Without a charter, Hamlin said it would cost the teams 'tens of millions,' to run three cars.
'We're committed to run this season open if we have to,' he said. 'We're going to race and fulfill all of our commitments no matter what. We're here to race. Our team is going to be here for the long haul and we're confident of that.'
The antitrust case isn't scheduled to be heard until December.
NASCAR has not said what it would do with the six charters held by the two organizations if they are returned to the sanctioning body. There are 36 chartered cars for a 40-car field.
'We feel like facts were on our side,' Hamlin said. 'I think if you listen to the judges, even they mentioned that we might be in pretty good shape.'
___
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
1 Soaring Growth Stock to Buy Hand Over Fist Before It Is Too Late
Applied Materials stock is in rebound mode. Even better, it still trades at an attractive valuation. The semiconductor equipment supplier expects stronger growth in the future due to increased spending by chipmakers and foundries. Applied Materials stock could deliver terrific gains going forward thanks to favorable end-market developments. 10 stocks we like better than Applied Materials › Share prices of Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) have jumped impressively from the 52-week lows they hit just over two months ago, gaining 31% in a short time on the back of the broader rally in the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite index that has clocked solid gains of 25% during the same period. What's worth noting is that investors shrugged off Applied Materials' mixed fiscal 2025 second-quarter results (for the three months ended April 27), which were released on May 15. The semiconductor equipment supplier reported robust growth in sales and earnings for the quarter, but its top line was a tad lighter than expected. The company's outlook for the current quarter followed a similar pattern. However, savvy investors would do well to note that Applied Materials' results and guidance were resilient at a time when the tariff-fueled turmoil and the restrictions on sales of semiconductor equipment to China are turning out to be headwinds for the company. Let's take a look at the factors that could help Applied Materials stock maintain its momentum on the market. Applied Materials reported year-over-year growth of 7% in its revenue in the previous quarter, while its non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) increased at a faster pace of 14%. A quarter of its revenue came from sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China. For comparison, Applied Materials' top-line growth was flat in the same quarter last year, while its adjusted earnings increased at a much slower pace of 5%. Applied Materials got 43% of its revenue from Chinese customers in the year-ago period. So, the company's growth accelerated even though restrictions on sales of advanced chipmaking equipment to Chinese customers hurt its business in its largest market abroad. This can be attributed to the global growth in semiconductor demand owing to catalysts such as artificial intelligence (AI). Equity research firm Summit Insights Group predicts that the improvement in demand for advanced chips in the second half of 2025 and next year should allow Applied Materials to continue doing well even if its Chinese business remains negatively impacted. Applied Materials CEO Gary Dickerson's remarks on last month's earnings conference call suggest something similar: The impact of AI datacenter innovation and investments is apparent in the wafer fab equipment market, where there are significant shifts in the spending mix this year. We see investment in leading edge foundry-logic growing substantially in 2025, and we also expect spending for leading-edge DRAM to be up significantly. Large-scale AI infrastructure investments such as the $500 billion Stargate project and the multibillion-dollar investments by cloud-computing giants to bolster their AI capabilities are the reasons why foundries and chipmakers are focused on enhancing their manufacturing capacities. Foundry giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM), for instance, is set to increase its capital expenditures (capex) by 38% at the midpoint of its forecast to $40 billion in 2025. The Taiwan-based company is on track to build nine fabrication plants this year. TSMC further points out that it will spend 70% of its capital spending on advanced process nodes. That's not surprising as almost three-fourths of the company's revenue comes from selling chips manufactured using advanced nodes that are 7-nanometer (nm) or smaller in size. Looking ahead, TSMC estimates that its revenue from sales of AI chips is likely to increase at an annual rate of mid-40% through 2029. So, it won't be surprising to see the company spending more money on shoring up the production capacity of advanced chips to meet the AI-fueled demand. The increase in capex by the likes of TSMC is expected to drive a 2% increase in global semiconductor equipment spending this year to $110 billion, followed by a much stronger increase of 18% in 2026. This should ideally lead to an acceleration in Applied Materials' growth as well, paving the way for more stock price upside. Analysts are forecasting a 10% increase in Applied Materials' earnings this fiscal year to $9.49 per share. This is expected to be followed by a smaller jump in fiscal 2026 before another year of double-digit growth in fiscal 2027. However, the sharp acceleration in global semiconductor equipment spending could allow Applied Materials to grow at a faster rate over the next couple of years. But even if the company's bottom line grows in line with consensus expectations and its earnings hit $11.17 per share after a couple of fiscal years (as per the chart above), its stock price could jump to $329 (based on the tech-laden Nasdaq-100 index's forward earnings multiple of 29). That points toward an 88% gain from current levels in the next three years. Applied Materials stock is now trading at just 18 times forward earnings, which is a nice discount to the Nasdaq-100 index, which serves as a proxy for tech stocks. However, the market could reward Applied Materials with a richer earnings multiple in the future if it can deliver stronger-than-expected earnings growth. That's why savvy investors may want to buy this semiconductor stock while it is still trading at an incredibly cheap valuation, as it has the ability to go on a terrific bull run going forward. Before you buy stock in Applied Materials, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Applied Materials wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $659,171!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $891,722!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 995% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025 Harsh Chauhan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Applied Materials and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 1 Soaring Growth Stock to Buy Hand Over Fist Before It Is Too Late was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
ESPN's Windhorst: Rockets ‘definitely still in race' for Kevin Durant trade
The Miami Heat and Houston Rockets appear to be the only two NBA teams who are both on Kevin Durant's list of desired destinations and actively engaged with the Phoenix Suns to get such a deal done. And between those two, longtime league insider Brian Windhorst thinks it's Houston that could be the most compelling basketball fit. While the terms of a potential deal remain unknown, financial analysis from Rockets Wire suggests a package headlined by Jalen Green or a combination of Dillon Brooks and either Jabari Smith Jr. or Reed Sheppard as the most likely starting point. Advertisement Draft equity and further matching salaries would likely be a component, as well. Phoenix is reportedly underwhelmed by the current offer, though negotiations are ongoing. In a Wednesday appearance on ESPN's Get Up, Windhorst offered this update: I think he's got Miami on there because he's attracted by the city and Pat Riley. It's certainly not the team. So, let's put them aside. Let's look at Houston and San Antonio. He would be the No. 1 offensive option on those two teams. I don't know about best player, and I don't know if that's what he's looking for at age 37. But he certainly would join those two teams and make them way more dynamic offensively. Particularly Houston, who is an elite defensive team that had difficulty getting isolation and individual scoring. He certainly believes, by looking at those two teams, that he can be a very high-level member of a contending team. So, I'm going to listen to what he says there. That's why I think Houston especially has got their eyebrow up. I'm not sure they're willing to pay a massive price for a 37-year-old when most of the rest of their team is in its early-to-mid 20s, but I think Houston should definitely be considered still in this race. Especially if Minnesota doesn't close. Potential trade suitors not on that preferred-destination list (such as the Timberwolves, who Windhorst identified) are reportedly not bidding aggressively without a change in the All-Star forward's stance. Since Durant's current contract expires after next season, his choice to sign (or not sign) an extension carries significant weight in these talks, since many teams won't risk surrendering significant asset capital if they might lose him as an unrestricted free agent a year later. Advertisement With that in mind, it appears that could make the Rockets and Heat frontrunners for Durant's services, assuming the Suns remain committed to trading him. A deal is reportedly possible at any time. To Windhorst's point, Houston finished 52-30 and No. 2 in the Western Conference last season, while Miami went 37-45 in the East. Thus, from a purely short-term basketball perspective, the Rockets would seemingly give Durant a better opportunity to compete at the highest level over whatever remains of his prime NBA years. More: Report: Rockets have 'firm offer' to trade for Kevin Durant, but Suns are underwhelmed This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: ESPN's Windhorst: Rockets 'definitely still in race' for Kevin Durant
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Arizona Republic: Rockets ‘ideal trade destination' for Kevin Durant
The Houston Rockets are the 'ideal landing spot' in a trade for Phoenix star Kevin Durant, an NBA source told Suns beat writer Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. 'A league source informed The Republic the Rockets would be the ideal landing spot for Durant, saying they need a 'go-to guy' in the fourth quarter and have draft picks and young players to offer the Suns in return,' Rankin writes. Advertisement The story continues: Rockets coach Ime Udoka has a relationship with Durant. Udoka was an assistant in Brooklyn in the 2020-21 season when Durant was with the Nets. Durant is also close friends with Rockets assistant Royal Ivey. They both played at the University of Texas and were teammates at Oklahoma City. Confirming recent reports, Rankin notes that a Durant trade is expected to take place in the coming days. Among many ties to Houston and the state of Texas, Durant is also linked to Jeff Green, who played with the Rockets in each of the previous two seasons. For four seasons at the start of their NBA careers, Durant and Green were teammates in Seattle and Oklahoma City. More: Shams: Rockets, Heat, Timberwolves leading Kevin Durant trade pursuit This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Arizona Republic: Rockets 'ideal trade destination' for Kevin Durant
