Bombshell text messages were revealed on Wednesday by 23XI Racing/Front Row Motorsports in a court filing in the teams’ antitrust case against NASCAR.
The messages, which were sent in June 2022, per Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports, are between NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell and executive vice president Ben Kennedy.
Texts reveal NASCAR leadership was scared of potential golf-esque split
O’Donnell appeared to be worried about NASCAR facing a split similar to what the PGA Tour and LIV Golf went through in 2022 — especially in light of the antitrust lawsuit that was brought forth in October 2024, which was floated around as a fringe possibility in 2024.
“I just watched (Jay) Monahan’s press conference,” O’Donnell said in his message to Kennedy. “I don’t ever want to see you in that position. We need to lock ourselves in a room and war-game this thing. Future of the sport is on the line and we need to assume — unfortunately — that 30 of 36 drivers will leave us and all owners will leave us.”