{"id":394606,"date":"2026-01-07T20:15:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T20:15:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/394606\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T20:15:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T20:15:17","slug":"nascar-commissioner-steve-phelps-resigns-after-text-messages-surface","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/394606\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps Resigns After Text Messages Surface"},"content":{"rendered":"

NASCAR<\/a> is heading into the upcoming season with a major leadership shakeup. <\/p>\n

According to ESPN<\/a>, Steve Phelps, the organization\u2019s first-ever commissioner, announced on Tuesday, January 6, that he will step down at the end of the month following the fallout from a federal antitrust trial that brought his private text messages into public view.<\/p>\n

Phelps spent more than two decades with NASCAR and was appointed commissioner last season. His resignation follows testimony in a lawsuit filed by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports that revealed inflammatory messages he sent during prolonged revenue-sharing negotiations between NASCAR and team owners<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Among the most damaging disclosures were texts in which Phelps disparaged legendary team owner Richard Childress, referring to him as \u201ca stupid redneck\u201d who \u201cneeds to be taken out back and flogged.\u201d <\/p>\n

The remarks sparked immediate backlash, including a formal letter from Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris, a major NASCAR sponsor and longtime supporter of Childress\u2019 team, calling for Phelps\u2019 removal.<\/p>\n

Shortly after Morris\u2019 letter surfaced, NASCAR reached a settlement with 23XI Racing\u2014co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin\u2014and Front Row Motorsports, effectively ending the antitrust case.<\/p>\n

In a statement announcing his departure, Phelps reflected positively on his tenure. \u201cAs a lifelong race fan, it gives me immense pride to have served as NASCAR\u2019s first Commissioner and to lead our great sport through so many incredible challenges, opportunities, and firsts over my 20 years,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Phelps added that he plans to pursue \u201cnew pursuits in sports and other industries.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also expressed gratitude toward the France family, who own NASCAR and hired him away from the NFL more than 20 years ago. \u201cWords cannot fully convey the deep appreciation I have for this life-changing experience, for the trust of the France family, and for having a place in NASCAR\u2019s amazing history,\u201d Phelps said.<\/p>\n

NASCAR leadership emphasized that Phelps\u2019 impact extended far beyond the controversy. During his tenure, the sport expanded internationally, secured long-term media rights deals, revamped its race schedule, and introduced high-profile events such as races at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and on the streets of Chicago. <\/p>\n

He also guided NASCAR back to competition during the COVID-19 shutdown, making it one of the first major sports leagues to resume play.<\/p>\n

Chairman and CEO Jim France praised Phelps as \u201cone of NASCAR\u2019s most impactful leaders,\u201d citing his focus on innovation, fan experience, and long-term growth.<\/p>\n

For now, NASCAR will not seek an immediate replacement. Phelps\u2019 duties will be handled internally by president Steve O\u2019Donnell and the existing executive leadership team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NASCAR is heading into the upcoming season with a major leadership shakeup. According to ESPN, Steve Phelps, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":394607,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":["post-394606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=394606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394606\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/394607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=394606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=394606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=394606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}