AVONDALE, Ariz. — NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps said Friday “we are trying our hardest” to settle the federal antitrust lawsuit with the two teams suing the racing series in the most expansive comments yet from the defendants.

Phelps read from a statement that ran over six minutes and took no questions on the litigation between 23XI Racing, owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, and Bob Jenkins-owned Front Row Motorsports.

Both sides recently participated in two days of mediation and didn’t come to a resolution, but NASCAR had been hoping that continued conversations would lead to a settlement it could announce ahead of Sunday’s championship-deciding season finale.

“NASCAR is fully aligned with our race team partners who have submitted declarations hoping to end this litigation,” Phelps said at Phoenix Raceway in the annual state of the sport news conference.

“We are trying our hardest. I am trying my hardest both as a fan as well as the commissioner of this sport that I’ve loved since I was 5 years old. While two out of the 15 teams may not share that view and seem set on an unfortunate court battle, I hope that we can all agree that our racing is as good as it has ever been and we care about how we serve our fans, especially as we look forward to capping off our season by celebrating new champions across all of our national series.”

NASCAR this weekend will crown its champions in the Truck Series, Xfinity Series and finally the season-ending Cup Series finale on Sunday. Hamlin is one of four drivers eligible for the winner-take-all title.

The lawsuit was filed a year ago by 23XI Racing, co-owned by NBA Hall of Famer Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Hamlin. Front Row Racing, a much smaller team, aligned with 23XI and they were the only two organizations out of 15 to not sign extensions last year on new charter agreements.

The new charter agreements were presented to the teams at the start of the 2024 playoffs with a deadline for them to sign. It followed over two years of tense negotiations over the charters, which are at the heart of NASCAR’s business model as they guarantee revenue and access to weekly races.

23XI and Front Row likely will go out of business without them and are racing this season unchartered, which comes with significantly reduced prize money.

Other teams have called for a settlement to move forward, but mediation sessions and private negotiations have not worked. The trial is scheduled for Dec. 1.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell this week dismissed NASCAR’s countersuit against Curtis Polk, the longtime business manager for Jordan and one of 23XI’s owners.

NASCAR has routinely refused to discuss the lawsuit but Phelps made an exception Friday with his prepared statement.

“This is not an antitrust case. The 2025 charter agreement is an improvement on the 2016 framework,” Phelp said as he read off enhancements that include “over $3 billion in guaranteed payments to the teams, enterprise value that is roughly $1.5 billion now to the race teams, guaranteed starting positions each week that allow teams to sell sponsorship on the best billboards in sports, the Next Gen car, and charters guaranteed for 14 years until at least 2039, plus an obligation to negotiate in good faith beyond that.

“The bottom line here is NASCAR is committed to charters.”

Phelps also defended the Florida-based France family who founded the sport in 1948, financially supports it and has grown it into the top motorsports series in the United States.

“The France family started NASCAR in 1948 using their own resources, grit and ingenuity. They have taken countless personal and financial risks, investing billions of dollars and untold hours into growing this sport to create opportunity for teams to race in front of fans for nearly eight decades,” Phelps said. “We are proud of what we built for fans together with the race teams, especially since the charters were introduced. … We’ll continue to defend and preserve it.

“Make no mistake, the lawsuit puts this at risk.”

Arizona State starting quarterback Sam Leavitt, the Big 12 preseason offensive player of the year, will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a lingering foot injury, coach Kenny Dillingham said Friday.

Dillingham, speaking to “Bickley & Marotta Mornings” on 98.7 FM radio Friday, said Leavitt wouldn’t travel with the team to Iowa State for Saturday’s game as he prepares for the surgery. Leavitt sustained the injury Sept. 20 against Baylor and has been in and out of Arizona State’s lineup.

He played in last week’s loss to Houston, completing 18 of 35 passes for 270 yards and a touchdown, but left the game in the fourth quarter was listed as out for the Iowa State game on the Big 12 availability report issued Thursday night. The redshirt sophomore has 1,628 passing yards with 10 touchdowns and three interceptions this season for Arizona State, which dropped to 5-3 following the Houston loss.

“It’s definitely something that’s been lingering all year,” Dillingham said this week. “It’s definitely something that could definitely turn into that (long-term) for sure, just because it hasn’t progressed like we hoped. He’s been dealing with this for pretty much the whole year. He hasn’t been at full speed, so we’ll definitely reassess it during the bye and make a decision from there.”

Leavitt led Arizona State to the program’s first Big 12 title and first College Football Playoff appearance in 2024, passing for 2,885 yards with 24 touchdowns and six interceptions. He entered this season pegged as one of the nation’s top quarterbacks and a potential NFL draft prospect.

Arizona State will start veteran Jeff Sims at quarterback against Iowa State. Sims filled in for Leavitt Oct. 11 against Utah and completed 18 of 38 passes for 124 yards. He also started games at Nebraska and Georgia Tech earlier in his career.

The Sun Devils have dealt with a host of injuries and won’t have center Ben Coleman, safety Xavion Alford and others available for the Iowa State game. Star wide receiver Jordyn Tyson is doubtful after missing the Houston game with a hamstring injury.

Designated hitter George Springer has returned to the Blue Jays lineup as Toronto seeks to clinch the World Series title, while the Los Angeles Dodgers are tinkering with their order as they seek to extend the series to Game 7.

Springer will be the Blue Jays’ leadoff hitter for Friday’s Game 6 after missing the past two games when he strained muscles on his right side while taking a swing in Game 3.

“Once you get confirmation that there’s nothing terribly wrong, it’s kind of ‘What can you tolerate?'” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “He’s somehow, at age 36, made significant progress in the last 48 hours.”

Los Angeles, meanwhile, will shift Mookie Betts to cleanup and play Miguel Rojas at second base. The Dodgers are searching for an offensive spark after being held to three runs and 10 hits over two straight losses to the Blue Jays in Los Angeles.

Betts at cleanup is the lowest he has hit in a lineup since September 2017 with the Boston Red Sox.

Typically hitting No. 2 for the Dodgers this season, Betts is 3-for-23 in the World Series, going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in Game 5 when he hit third for the first time in four years.

Schneider said the Blue Jays don’t believe Springer can aggravate or worsen his pain by playing.

“That’s kind of how we’re approaching it,” Schneider said. “There’s always some risk too. There’s a difference between being injured and hurting. He’s not injured right now. But yeah, there’s always a risk.”

Springer has hit the second-most leadoff homers in major league history with 63, trailing only Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson‘s 81.

He hit a three-run homer in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series against the Seattle Mariners on Oct. 20, playing a major role in sending the Blue Jays to their first World Series title since 1993. That came three days after he was struck on the right kneecap by a 95.6 mph pitch from Seattle’s Bryan Woo during the ALCS, forcing him out of Game 5. Springer returned in Game 6.

With Springer back in the lineup, Bo Bichette will play second base for the third time in the World Series after not playing the position at the major league level before.

The Blue Jays lead the World Series 3-2 and are one win from their first title since 1993. A Dodgers victory would force the first World Series Game 7 since 2019.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.