Things are getting ugly for NASCAR.
We’re just a week away from the start of the trial in the antitrust lawsuit between 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports against NASCAR, and you’ve got to wonder if NASCAR is wishing they had just settled the case at this point.
It seemed like the two sides in the lawsuit were close to a settlement at one point, but now that seems unlikely before trial so both sides are gearing up to make their arguments in the courtroom. That means that teams are required to submit any evidence they intend to use in their case, so over the weekend we got our first look at what’s been exchanged behind the scenes already. And one text message in particular has gotten a lot of attention after comments between NASCAR executives about one team owner in particular.
The message showed then-NASCAR President Steve Phelps (who is now the “Commissioner” of NASCAR) fuming over Richard Childress in August of 2023, while NASCAR was in the midst of negotiating a new TV deal and charter agreement with team owners.
Childress had given an interview on SiriusXM about the charter negotiations, and wasn’t happy with the way things were going. After listening to the interview, Phelps said Childress, who owns the #3 car for Austin Dillon and the #8 car of Kyle Busch in the NASCAR Cup Series, “needs to be taken out back and flogged” while calling him a “stupid redneck who owes his entire fortune” to NASCAR.
In another string of messages, Phelps and NASCAR VP Brian Herbst call Childress an “idiot” for comments he made to the media, apparently regarding the proposed charter extension agreement. According to Phelps:
“He’s not smart – is a dinosaur – and a malcontent. He’s worth a couple hundred million dollars – every dollar associated with NASCAR in some way. Total a–clown.”
Brutal.
Of course NASCAR fans were outraged that high-level executives in the sport would call a team owner a “stupid redneck,” and Phelps had reportedly already contacted Childress to let him know about the messages and do damage control before they were released. But that may not be good enough for Childress.
In his first statement since the text messages became public, Childress revealed that he was exploring legal action, presumably against NASCAR or Phelps:
“RCR and Richard Childress are deeply disappointed by the insensitive and defamatory statements made about Mr. Childress in recently surfaced text messages between NASCAR executives Steve Phelps and Brian Herbst. These comments reflect the way certain NASCAR executives have historically viewed and treated many team owners like Mr. Childress, who have devoted their lives to strengthening the sport for its fans, its sponsors, and all who compete in it. RCR and Richard Childress are equally disappointed for the NASCAR fans, with whom Mr. Childress closely identifies given his humble and hard-working background.
Mr. Childress and the organization will issue no further statements regarding these or other defamatory text messages that have recently surfaced, as legal action is being contemplated and discussed with legal counsel.”
Now, simply calling him a “stupid redneck” probably isn’t enough to win a lawsuit. But Childress could allege that NASCAR retaliated against him for his comments during the interview in question, or that they discriminated against him as compared to other teams – and cite the texts as evidence.
In fact, earlier this year Childress accused NASCAR of having a bias against his team when it suspended Xfinity Series driver Austin Hill following an incident at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. When asked whether he thought NASCAR treated them differently than other teams, Childress didn’t hold back:
“It’s who you are. We’re a blue collar team, they give us trouble all the time.”
So did Childress know about the text messages at the time, and were his comments a hint that he feels like the sport is discriminating or is biased against Richard Childress Racing?
It certainly makes his claim more interesting, and could ultimately give us insight into what legal options he’s exploring.
Either way, you’ve gotta think NASCAR probably wishes they had just given the teams evergreen charters like they asked for and avoided this whole mess.
