The CEO of NASCAR had a lot of insults aimed at Richard Childress<\/p>\n
Richard Childress is the owner of RCR. They field two NASCAR Cup Series teams full-time.<\/p>\n
In 2023, Childress made comments as NASCAR and the teams were working on a new charter agreement. NASCAR was not happy with these comments.<\/p>\n
Behind the scenes, NASCAR had a lot to say in reaction. They even went as far as calling the legendary team owner a \u2018redneck\u2019 and so on.<\/p>\n
The following text exchanges were between the then NASCAR CEO Steve Phelps and VP Brian Herbst. The exchange surfaced this week in court documents regarding the antitrust lawsuit.<\/p>\n
NASCAR lawsuit opened by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports<\/a><\/p>\n NASCAR discusses Richard Childress behind the scenes<\/p>\n The following exchange took place in 2023:<\/p>\n Steve Phelps: \u201cI agree with you. Did you give them some sense of how bad things are out there?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cChildress needs to be taken out back and flogged. He\u2019s a stupid redneck who owes his entire fortune to NASCAR.\u201d<\/p>\n Brian Herbst: \u201cI didn\u2019t go there \u2013 kept it high level for now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOngoing conversations, figuring out where all the puzzle pieces land, etc.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut happy to do so in future conversations \u2013 just didn\u2019t know if now was the time to provide a dose of reality or not.\u201d<\/p>\n Steve Phelps: \u201c10-4. How\u2019s it going thus far?\u201d<\/p>\n Brian Herbst: \u201cGetting a little testy. OD doing a great job on the hot seat, but there\u2019s a lot of \u2018we\u2019ll discuss internally\u2019, \u2018want to get together in a room\u2019, etc.\u201d<\/p>\n Steve Phelps: \u201cThese guys are short sighted and self serving. Childress is an idiot. If they don\u2019t like the state of the sport, sell you charter and get out.\u201d<\/p>\n Brian Herbst: \u201cNewmark and Custer both thought the TV level set (into the future) was a good idea.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe can add that to the tactical next steps.\u201d<\/p>\n Steve Phelps: \u201cInsole to Newmark about it yesterday. Told him we would do a good media deal this go around but I was terrified about the next one \u2013 particularly if we don\u2019t come together. I also spoke to Justin Marks about it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI spoke to the existing media market and how challenging it is \u2013 but was confident that we would end up in a good place. Maybe not what we had originally planned but in the ballpark.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI assume the meeting has concluded?\u201d<\/p>\n NASCAR was worried Dale Earnhardt Jr would race SRX<\/a><\/p>\n After the meeting\u2026<\/p>\n Brian Herbst: \u201cNewmark did talk about your conversation, he thought it was really insightful. Glad you spoke with Justin as well.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd yes \u2013 meeting wrapped. Just doing post meetings catch-ups.\u201d<\/p>\n Steve Phelps: \u201cDid I mention that Childress is an idiot?\u201d<\/p>\n Brian Herbst: \u201cJust listened to the hit. He is an idiot.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo many false claims and\/or disingenuous statements.\u201d<\/p>\n Steve Phelps: \u201cIf he\u2019s that angry (and apparently his is) sign your charter extension and sell. He\u2019s not smart \u2013 is a dinosaur \u2013 and a malcontent. He\u2019s worth a couple hundred million dollars \u2013 every dollar associated with NASCAR in some fashion. Total ass-clown.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2025, Steve Phelps is now the commissioner of NASCAR. <\/p>\n Richard Childress comments on the NASCAR lawsuit<\/a><\/p>\n Links<\/p>\n