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.”

Donald Trump has said he is designating Nigeria a “country of particular concern” as “thousands of Christians” are being killed there.

Posting on Truth Social, he said radical Islamists are committing “mass slaughter” and Christianity is “facing an existential threat” in the West African nation.

The US president said he was asking officials to “immediately look into this matter, and report back to me”.

Mr Trump quoted figures suggesting 3,100 Christians had been killed in Nigeria, but did not state any source for the numbers or timeframe.

He stated: “We stand ready, willing, and able to save our Great Christian population around the World!”

Nigeria now joins North Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan and China on a list of countries “of particular concern” due to violations of religious freedom.

The move is one step before possible sanctions – which could mean a ban on all non-humanitarian aid.

The Nigerian government has vehemently rejected the claims. Analysts have said that, while Christians are among those targeted, the majority of victims of armed groups are Muslims in the country’s Muslim-majority north, where the most attacks take place.

Mr Trump’s move follows efforts by Republican senator Ted Cruz to get fellow evangelical Christians to lobby Congress over claims of “Christian mass murder” in Nigeria.

Boko Haram – which kidnapped more than 270 schoolgirls in 2014 – is the main group cited in previous warnings by US and international governments.

The group has committed “egregious violations of religious freedom”, according to a 2021 report by the bipartisan US Commission on International Religious Freedom.

It said more than 37,000 people had been killed by Islamist groups in Nigeria since 2011.

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Churches and Christian neighbourhoods have been targeted in the past, but experts say Muslims are the most common victims of Boko Haram attacks, which routinely target the police, military and government.

Other groups operating said to be operating in the country include Boko Haram offshoot Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP).

About half of Nigeria’s population is estimated to be Muslim, who mostly live in the north, with roughly the other half following Christianity.

US travellers are currently urged to “reconsider” travel to Nigeria due to a threat of terrorism, crime, kidnapping and armed gangs. The UK advises its citizens along similar lines.

“I hate it,” Shirley told us.

Every time she has to give her address, it leads to a snide remark or joke at her expense.

She’s lived on Prince Andrew Drive in Telford, Shropshire, for 35 years.

As the national scandal around Andrew Mountbatten Windsor – as he is now called – has deepened, it has become increasingly embarrassing for her.

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A few years ago, another resident started a petition to change the name of the road, and somebody covered up part of the street sign.

“I think we should change it,” Shirley told us, “but don’t ask me what to.”

After a few minutes weighing up the options, she settled on Prince George Drive.

“At least that looks to the future,” she added.

Linda Boden has lived on the road even longer – she and husband Phil moved here after getting married 45 years ago.

“We have actually had the conversation this morning, that the name of this road will get changed,” Linda said.

Phil told us he wasn’t bothered about the name. “It’s just a name, it’s not the man… I can’t tell you what I think [about him] without swearing you know.”

Cheryl, who lives nearby, told us what really mattered to her were the victims of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal – particularly the late Virginia Giuffre.

“That poor girl needs justice,” she said. “It is ridiculous it has gone on this long to be perfectly honest. That poor family are still living with it.”

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Julie Harper lives on the adjacent road, called Queen Elizabeth Way, and is more than happy with her road name.

She told Sky News that the King had made the “best decision ever” by removing his brother’s titles.

I asked where her sympathies lay within this long-running royal scandal and Julie was unequivocal.

“With anybody who has been sexually exploited,” she said bluntly.

Julie believes Princess Anne Drive would be a better name for her neighbours’ road.

“She’s one of the better ones,” she added.

Changing the road name would be a logistical headache for local authorities and residents, with some telling us it did not bother them and they would not fancy the extra paperwork to amend things such as household bills and driving licences.

But Postman Gary told us every time he’s making deliveries on Prince Andrew Drive, he feels for the residents.

“We have a little giggle because we know they don’t want it named that anymore and I wouldn’t either if I lived here. It’s probably time it changed.”

We did not find anyone on Prince Andrew Drive who disagreed with the King’s decision to remove his titles and oust him from his home in Windsor.

The monarchy needs to retain the support of the public across the UK – that’s one of the reasons the King has taken such decisive action at this point in the scandal.