NASCAR’s battle with Michael Jordan just went next-level, with the company suing the NBA Hall of Famer, calling his team and partnering team Front Row Motorsports an “illegal cartel.”

Jordan got into NASCAR in 2020 when he and 54-time NASCAR winner Denny Hamlin created 23XI Racing. They’ve achieved a decent amount of success, winning six races, including last year’s Talladega 500.

But almost immediately after buying into the sport, Jordan’s been outwardly critical of NASCAR, who he alleges to be preferential to some teams, while keeping others down, making it harder for them to compete.

While NASCAR’s response isn’t surprising, its wording certainly is. Comparing Jordan, his team and his partners to something similar to a murderous drug syndicate just divides the two parties even further.

NASCAR says Jordan, 23XI Racing, and Front Row Motorsports “agreed to a scheme to pressure NASCAR to accept their collusive terms, including by engaging in media campaigns, interfering with NASCAR’s broadcast agreement negotiations, threatening boycotts of NASCAR events and engaging in a group boycott of a NASCAR Team Owner Council Meeting.”

According to The Athletic, Jordan’s attorney responded by saying NASCAR’s lawsuit is “a meritless distraction and a desperate attempt to shift attention away from its own unlawful, monopolistic actions.”

The six-time NBA champion originally sued NASCAR in October, alleging “anti-competitive practices and monopolistic control of the sport.”

Unlike every other professional league in the United States, NASCAR is family owned, run by CEO Jim France. And France hasn’t been too pleased with a newcomer like Michael Jordan coming in and trying to upend the sport that went from racing on beaches in the 1950s to being one of the most profitable sports leagues in the world.

What started as a one-car team for 23XI Racing in 2021 grew to two cars the following season. And beginning this year, the team plans on having three cars competing, with Riley Herbst joining eight-time winner Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace, the sport’s only current African-American driver.

Last season, Reddick finished fourth in the final NASCAR standings, while Wallace placed 18^th.

A jury trial has been set for December 1, 2025, and despite NASCAR’s best efforts to keep 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports from competing this season, a federal judge allowed them to keep driving as a full NASCAR member until the trial is complete.