Overview
- Discovery records show then-president Steve Phelps calling Hall of Famer Richard Childress a "stupid redneck" and saying he "needs to be taken out back and flogged" during August 2023 negotiations.
- Further exchanges depict executives deriding teams and fans, including a message from an unnamed insider that "most our fans are not exactly top readers," and threads mocking smaller organizations.
- Separate 2024 texts show Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson using a slur about Childress following Donald Trump’s pit-box visit at the Coca-Cola 600.
- Judges have excluded the most inflammatory messages from presentation to jurors, yet the disclosures are fueling public backlash and calls for leadership accountability.
- The messages surfaced through the 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports antitrust challenge to NASCAR’s charter model, with trial scheduled for December 1.