As a team owner in the O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series, Tommy Joe Martins doesn\u2019t like these NASCAR lawsuit text messages. Martins, owner of Alpha Prime Racing, operates a team on a budget. They aren\u2019t a big-name, big-sponsor organization. They make do with what they can get by with. <\/p>\n
There were likely a couple of messages that upset Tommy Joe Martins. The NASCAR lawsuit has brought to light private messages between series executives. It hasn\u2019t exactly been the best look for the sport\u2019s leadership, either. <\/p>\n
This morning, Martins took to social media to vent his frustrations. He isn\u2019t a Cup Series owner, but a lot of it applies to the NOAPS. <\/p>\n
\u201cEvery text from everyone involved just confirms everything I\u2019ve felt for 10+ years,\u201d Martins posted on social media. \u201cIt\u2019s not a disappointment to see it all, it\u2019s a relief. I wasn\u2019t just dreaming it up. It was actually happening.\u201d <\/p>\n
Every text from everyone involved just confirms everything I\u2019ve felt for 10+ years. It\u2019s not a disappointment to see it all, it\u2019s a relief. I wasn\u2019t just dreaming it up. It was actually happening.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Tommy Joe Martins (@TommyJoeMartins) November 23, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n That\u2019s a rather simple yet poignant message. As a team owner of a smaller organization, Martins knows the struggles that it takes to make the NASCAR dream work. There are no billionaire owners or investors at Alpha Prime. No manufacturer is clamoring to give them mountains of data. <\/p>\n Martins did not mention which messages from the NASCAR lawsuit upset him. But he basically said, \u201ceveryone involved,\u201d which to me means all, if not most, of those messages were upsetting. <\/p>\n So, I can imagine that the Richard Childress \u201cstupid redneck\u201d<\/a> comments were not well received. Many NASCAR fans don\u2019t feel like it\u2019s an issue to insult a team owner. But if you can call Childress a stupid redneck, then what does Commissioner Steve Phelps think about the team owners who aren\u2019t worth hundreds of millions of dollars? The fans? The crew members? <\/p>\n Then there are the messages between Steve Miller and John Probst<\/a>. Miller is the Competition Strategist at NASCAR. Probst is the Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer. <\/p>\n In text messages shared between the two, they compared small teams to people on the \u201cgovernment teet.\u201d It was a direct insult to teams like Alpha Prime Racing and so many others in the sport. <\/p>\n \u201cBut there is no help for the ones that don\u2019t want it,\u201d Probst wrote. \u201c\u2026 Like govt [sic] welfare. \u2026 You can help the ones that want help. The rest just suck up your resources.\u201d<\/p>\n Then Scott Miller replied, \u201cSpire and Front Row may be \u2018helpable\u2019 but Ware and [McLeod] are already on the Gov tee, they\u2019ll just make more babies.\u201d So, another insight into how NASCAR executives think and feel. <\/p>\n Conversation between Scott Miller and John Probst of NASCAR, the two compare slower teams to people on “govt welfare.”<\/p>\n “You can help the ones that want help. The rest just suck up your resources.” \u2014 Jonathan Howard (@Jondean25) November 22, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n
“Ware and McCloud are already on the Gov teet, they’ll just make more babies.” pic.twitter.com\/ao8E64WG3P<\/a><\/p>\n