AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — NASCAR heads into its championship weekend locked into a federal antitrust lawsuit with NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan. Its officiating has been under months-long scrutiny, and this week it issued a wave of hefty fines for alleged race manipulation in the final playoff qualifier.
And Truck Series championship contender Ty Majeski was fined $12,500 for skipping media obligations in North Carolina on Tuesday so he could vote in person in his home state of Wisconsin.
Other than that? Three champions will be crowned starting Friday at Phoenix Raceway.
But those national series races have become a sideshow to the off-track drama that has engulfed NASCAR the last several months. The four drivers who are competing in Sunday's winner-take-all finale have tuned out the distractions, starting with Tyler Reddick, who made the final four for the first time in his career and is trying to give Jordan his first championship since Jordan became a team owner in 2021.
“No, for me, and for our group, it is championship weekend and everything else is not in our focus,” Reddick said Thursday.
A federal judge in North Carolina is due to rule Friday — the same day of the Truck Series championship and the first practice for the Cup Series — on a preliminary injunction filed by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports. The two teams refused to sign NASCAR's take-it-or-leave-it offer in September on a new revenue sharing agreement and instead have sued both NASCAR and chairman Jim France.
Now the teams want to be recognized under the charter agreements as they proceed with a lawsuit that accuses NASCAR of being “monopolistic bullies.” The ruling is due the same day NASCAR is slated to give its annual “State of the Sport” address.
Ryan Blaney, the reigning NASCAR champion who is seeking to become the first driver to go back-to-back since Jimmie Johnson won five Cup titles in a row from 2006 through 2010, said the off-track issues have nothing at all to do with him or Team Penske. Blaney and teammate Joey Logano give Ford and Roger Penske a 50% chance to win a third consecutive Cup title.
“For me it feels normal because I am not a part of any of it,” Blaney said. “I am part of what I am doing, the championship, so it's nice to not be a part of any of the things going on outside sheer competition. For me, it's a great week, championship week and we've got a chance to do it. To me, it's normal.”
NBC Sports does not think the off-track drama will spill into coverage of the three national series races at Phoenix.
“I think during the race, we are here to crown a champion and I can't imagine us talking about anything other than that,” said analyst Jeff Burton, who said play-by-play announcer Leigh Diffey is unlikely to declare Reddick the winner in the same breath as “but there's a lawsuit!”
But there are other issues pending.
NASCAR on Tuesday levied $600,000 in fines and suspended nine members of three different Cup teams for alleged manipulation at Martinsville Speedway last weekend. NASCAR ruled Bubba Wallace of 23XI helped fellow Toyota driver Christopher Bell by allegedly faking a flat tire. That allowed Bell to hit the wall to avoid Wallace and ride it for momentum to claim the final spot in the playoffs over William Byron.
But that move had been ruled illegal after Ross Chastain did it in 2022, and it took NASCAR officials nearly 30 minutes post-race Sunday to decide if Bell was disqualified or not. He was, and Byron of Hendrick Motorsports got the final spot.
“It was excruciating,” Byron admitted Thursday. “It was so long. I was honestly numb to it. I was just preparing for not being in and thinking we had done all we needed to do to get in.”
NASCAR also ruled Tuesday that fellow Chevrolet drivers Chastain and Austin Dillon acted as blockers for Byron over the final few laps to prevent anyone from taking position from him.
Trackhouse Racing and Richard Childress Racing appealed the penalties; 23XI withdrew its initial appeal while denying it manipulated the race for Bell, and RCR withdrew the appeal before the hearing. The appeal panel late Thursday ruled Trackhouse violated the rules.
And then there's just the scrutiny over NASCAR officiating in general.
NASCAR for the entire playoffs has flip-flopped on its damaged vehicle policy, which was completely botched during the playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway.
Confusion over the DVP rule began early in the playoffs when Blaney and Josh Berry were in first-lap incidents and although the damage appeared minimal, the way the DVP rule had been previously officiated, both were deemed out of the race and ineligible to be towed to the pit stall because they were unable to continue after contact.
But at Talladega, after a 28-car crash brought out the red flag, NASCAR struggled to control the cleanup. Numerous damaged cars were stranded with flat tires and then-playoff contenders Chase Elliott and Briscoe were towed back to their stalls to allow for repairs.
Under previous implementation of the rule, the cars should have been ruled out of the race because they had four flat tires and were not able to drive back to pit road.
Drivers were incensed over the change in officiating. NASCAR officials later told teams they’ll operate the DVP policy the rest of the playoffs the way they did at Talladega.
“The DVP policy could spill into the live event,” NBC analyst Steve Letarte said. “So when it affects on-track clearly to us, we have to cover that, that's our job. But there's no chance I'm going to pull an off-track story and connect it to an on-track performance. I think it's a slap in the face to whatever teams wins the championship trophy.”
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Tyler Reddick, center, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)
Crew members perform a pit stop on driver William Byron's car during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Va., Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
Ryan Blaney, center, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Va., Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
NEW YORK (AP) — A defiant Rudy Giuliani was ordered Thursday to quickly turn over prized assets including a car and a watch given to him by his grandfather as part of a $148 million defamation judgment, leading the former New York City mayor to emerge from court saying he expects to win on appeal and get everything back.
After the hearing in Manhattan federal court, Giuliani said he was the victim of a “political vendetta” and he was “pretty sure” the judgment could be reversed.
“This is a case of political persecution,” he told reporters, citing the size of what he described as a punitive judgment. “There isn’t a person (who) doesn’t know the judgment is ridiculous.”
Judge Lewis J. Liman ordered the one-time presidential candidate to report to court after lawyers for the two former Georgia election workers who were awarded the massive judgment visited Giuliani’s Manhattan apartment last week only to discover it had been cleared out weeks earlier.
Lawyers for Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, say Giuliani has mostly dodged turning over assets by an Oct. 29 deadline, enabling the longtime ally of once-and-future President Donald Trump to hang on to many of his most treasured belongings.
The possessions include his $5 million Upper East Side apartment, a 1980 Mercedes once owned by movie star Lauren Bacall, a shirt signed by New York Yankees legend Joe DiMaggio, dozens of luxury watches and other valuables.
During Thursday's hearing, Giuliani attorney Kenneth Caruso said he believed the plaintiffs were being “vindictive” in demanding that items to be turned over include a watch that belonged to Giuliani's grandfather.
That comment drew a scoff and rebuke from Liman, who said individuals are forced to give up family heirlooms all the time to satisfy debts.
“They have to pay the debt. It doesn't matter that it's in the form of a watch or a watch that somebody passes down to him,” the judge said.
Caruso also claimed that the car was worth less than $4,000, an amount that might exempt it from the turnover order. But the judge said he'd already ordered that the car be turned over.
“Your honor has ample discretion to change an order,” Caruso said.
When he arrived at the courthouse, Giuliani told reporters that he has not stood in the way of the court's orders.
“Every bit of property that they want is available, if they are entitled to it,” he said. “Now, the law says they’re not entitled to a lot of them. For example, they want my grandfather’s watch, which is 150 years old. That’s a bit of an heirloom. Usually you don’t get those unless you’re involved in a political persecution. In fact, having me here today is like a political persecution.”
Aaron Nathan, an attorney for the election workers, told Liman that most of the New York apartment's contents, including art, sports memorabilia and other valuables, had been moved out about four weeks prior to an attempt to recover the materials. Some of was believed stored on Long Island in a container Giuliani's lawyer said they could not access.
At the hearing, Nathan complained that efforts to get assets were met by “delay and then evasion” and that Giuliani had only recently revealed the existence of new bank accounts containing about $40,000 in cash.
Giuliani spoke directly to the judge at one point, saying he'd been “treated rudely” by those trying to take control of his assets.
His lawyers have so far argued unsuccessfully that Giuliani should not be forced to turn over his belongings while he appeals the judgment.
Giuliani was found liable for defamation for falsely accusing Freeman and Moss of ballot fraud as he pushed Trump's unsubstantiated election fraud allegations during the 2020 campaign.
The women said they faced death threats after Giuliani accused the two of sneaking in ballots in suitcases, counting ballots multiple times and tampering with voting machines.
Asked Thursday by a reporter if he had any regrets about defaming the women, Giuliani bristled, saying: “First of all, I didn't defame them. I did not defame them.”
Caruso, his lawyer, stepped in, saying: “Everything that’s been ordered today, will — in my professional judgment — be temporary. ... We're going to have that verdict reversed. It's all going to come back.”
Giuliani also said he had spoken to Trump since his reelection, prompting a reporter to ask if they had discussed the possibility he might join the new administration.
“That’s a discussion between me and the president-elect. And the fact is of course I would if that’s what he wanted. I’m not offering myself or anything, but I would. You know I’m very dedicated to him,” Giuliani said.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks to the media as he leaves court in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks the media as he leaves court in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani leaves court in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks to the media as he leaves court in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks to the members of the media as he leaves court in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks to the media as he leaves court in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani arrives at the court to explain to a federal judge why he hasn't surrendered his valuables as part of a $148 million defamation judgment, in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani arrives at the court to explain to a federal judge why he hasn't surrendered his valuables as part of a $148 million defamation judgment, in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani arrives at the court to explain to a federal judge why he hasn't surrendered his valuables as part of a $148 million defamation judgment, in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Rudy Giuliani, center, arrives to federal court in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Rudy Giuliani, center, arrives to federal court in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani arrives at the court to explain to a federal judge why he hasn't surrendered his valuables as part of a $148 million defamation judgment, in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani arrives at the court to explain to a federal judge why he hasn't surrendered his valuables as part of a $148 million defamation judgment, in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
This photo provided by the Financial Times shows Rudy Giuliani in the passenger seat of a Mercedes convertible at the same polling place where Donald Trump cast his ballot on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (Alex Rogers/Financial Times via AP)
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani arrives at the court to explain to a federal judge why he hasn't surrendered his valuables as part of a $148 million defamation judgment, in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani arrives at the court to explain to a federal judge why he hasn't surrendered his valuables as part of a $148 million defamation judgment, in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
