NASCAR’s leadership is facing another wave of scrutiny after newly released text messages revealed harsh and personal remarks directed at veteran team owner Richard Childress.

The messages surfaced through fact discovery in the ongoing 23XI Racing, led by Michael Jordan, and Front Row Motorsports antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR, a case already shaking the foundations of the sport’s business model and internal politics.

The texts, exchanged during a 2023 meeting with team owners, show commissioner Steve Phelps, who made an alarming admission before Danny Hamlin fell in the NASCAR title race, receiving live updates from Chief Media & Revenue Officer Brian Herbst as the industry debated long-term charter agreements. Those negotiations were critical, aiming to unify teams ahead of the next broadcast rights deal. 

But behind the scenes, Phelps appeared focused less on consensus-building and more on expressing disdain for Childress, a six-time Cup Series championship-winning owner whose public comments had recently irritated NASCAR executives.

In the messages, Phelps repeatedly attacked Childress, writing: “Childress is an idiot. If they don’t like the state of the sport, sell your charter and get out.” Minutes later, he doubled down: “Did I mention Childress was an idiot?”

As Herbst continued relaying discussion points from the meeting, Phelps escalated further: “If he’s that angry (and apparently he is) sign your charter extension and sell. 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 fashion. Total a–clown.”

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Another message delivered perhaps the most inflammatory line of all: “Childress needs to be taken out back and flogged. He’s a stupid redneck who owes his entire fortune to NASCAR.”

These revelations follow earlier leaked remarks from both Phelps and NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell in which they criticized teams, the charter model, and even the culture of the sport. 

One Phelps email complained that an early charter proposal represented “zero wins for the teams,” later adding the agreement “must reflect a middle position or we are dead in the water — they will sign them but we are f—ing moving forward.” 

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O’Donnell, meanwhile, was documented saying the deal set NASCAR back decades, writing: “F– the teams, dictatorship, motorsport, redneck, southern, tiny sport.”

At Phoenix Raceway ahead of Championship Weekend, Phelps publicly addressed the fallout, acknowledging the damage: “It’s certainly not something that we were interested in having happen, but it’s happened… Are there some comments that have been made on both sides that are unfortunate? Yeah. Are there things that Steve and I said that we would like to not have made public? Yes.”

Still, Phelps attempted to reassure fans, sponsors, and investors: “But what I do know is this is an amazing sport. We are a very resilient sport. We have asked our employees… to put your head down and grow this sport, and that’s what we’ve done. I don’t think a lawsuit or anything else is going to ultimately pull against the overall success of this sport as we move forward.”