Heather Gibbs testifies NASCAR offer was 'like a gun to the head,' Michael Jordan takes stand | Hindustan Times

**Revised Title:** "NASCAR Antitrust Trial: Michael Jordan Testifies as Heather Gibbs Describes 'Gun to the Head' Deal Offer" **Revised Article:** CHARLOTTE, N.C. - In a dramatic turn in the federal antitrust case against NASCAR, Michael Jordan took the stand on Friday, just hours after his business partner Heather Gibbs delivered emotional testimony about the chaotic six-hour period in which teams were forced to sign an extension on a new revenue model or risk losing their charters. Gibbs, the daughter-in-law of NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs, described the tense negotiations as "like a gun to the head" - where teams were given just six hours to sign a 112-page extension or forfeit their charters. "It was a document we would never sign in business," Gibbs said. "If we didn't sign, we had nothing." The charters, which guarantee a team a spot in all 38 races and a defined payout, were created in 2016. However, NASCAR refused to make them permanent, leading to a bitter dispute between the teams and the series. Two teams, 23XI and Front Row Motorsports, refused to sign the extension and filed an antitrust suit against NASCAR. Jordan, co-owner of 23XI, and Bob Jenkins, owner of Front Row Motorsports, allege that NASCAR is a monopolistic bully. Jordan's testimony comes after Gibbs' emotional account of the negotiations, which left her team devastated. "Everything was going so fast, the legacy of Coy, the legacy of J.D., everyone at JGR was very upset," Gibbs said, referring to her late father-in-law and his brother, who both played key roles in the team. Gibbs also testified about a letter she sent to NASCAR executives in May 2024, expressing her dissatisfaction with the refusal to make the charters permanent. "We've put 32 years into investing and building a dream, building careers, building families, and building NASCAR," she wrote. "If the financial model made sense, we would not have had to work with an outside investor." The trial continues, with NASCAR president Steve O'Donnell testifying earlier in the week about a text message he sent to Ben Kennedy, nephew of Jim France, which read: "Jim is now reading Heather's letter out loud and swearing every other sentence."