Long before the battle over the charter system led to the antitrust lawsuit now engulfing NASCAR, its executives found Michael Jordan and his small group of advisers a beneficial resource in discussing growth for the top racing series in the United States.

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.”

Curtis Polk was singled out in NASCAR’s countersuit as the mastermind for a near mutiny by the race teams over revenue sharing.