NASCAR Executives Expressed Desire to "Eliminate" SRX Amidst Charter Negotiations and Emerging Competition

Unsealed court documents, made public on Friday as a prelude to the December 1 trial of the antitrust lawsuit filed by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports against NASCAR, have revealed candid internal communications from NASCAR leadership regarding the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX). The exchanges depict a strong desire by top NASCAR officials to neutralize or eliminate the SRX series, which they perceived as a threat, particularly as charter negotiations intensified and other independent racing ventures gained traction.

The most striking revelation comes from an exchange between NASCAR Commissioner and then-President Steve Phelps and President and then-Chief Operating Officer Steve O’Donnell. In a series of messages, Phelps expressed an aggressive stance towards SRX, stating that a "knife" needed to be put into "this trash series." This sentiment was reportedly triggered upon learning that Denny Hamlin, a prominent NASCAR Cup Series driver and team owner, had committed to participating in the SRX season opener.

At the time of these communications, SRX was gearing up for its third season. Following two years on CBS on Saturday nights, the series had transitioned to ESPN for its 2023 campaign. This shift to a Thursday night slot, a departure from its previous weekend programming, inadvertently created a more favorable window for active Cup Series drivers to compete, a development that clearly agitated NASCAR’s executive suite.

The Superstar Racing Experience was co-founded by a quartet of racing luminaries: Tony Stewart, Ray Evernham, George Pyne, and Sandy Montag. Evernham departed the organization after its inaugural 2021 season. Donald Hawk served as CEO for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. The series itself was designed to feature a unique format, often bringing together retired NASCAR legends and current stars in identical, purpose-built stock cars, emphasizing driver skill over machinery.

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The unsealed messages, dated June 29, 2022, provide a direct window into NASCAR’s strategic thinking and concerns. The exchange began with O’Donnell’s observation, "Oh great, another owner racing in SRX." Phelps’s response was immediate and emphatic: "These guys are just plain stupid. Need to put a knife in this trash series." O’Donnell then added, "This is NASCAR. Pure and simple. Enough. We need legal to take a shot at this."

The underlying insinuation in this internal dialogue appears to be that SRX, by attracting participation from active NASCAR drivers, was potentially infringing upon NASCAR’s intellectual property rights and its business model. The ability of SRX to draw prominent NASCAR talent, especially when broadcast on a network that also held rights for NASCAR content, was seen as a direct challenge.

This was not an isolated incident of concern. The previous summer, Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks also competed in an SRX event at Stafford Motor Speedway. This participation had similarly drawn the attention and apprehension of NASCAR leadership, who were increasingly viewing SRX as a competitive entity operating within the nationally televised stock car racing landscape.

The unsealed texts from June 29, 2022, are particularly significant when viewed in the context of the ongoing charter negotiations, a contentious period that was just beginning to escalate. The charter system, which guarantees race teams a starting spot and a share of purse money, has been a focal point of disputes between NASCAR and its car owners for years. The messages also coincide with the period when Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Justin Marks were reportedly exploring the acquisition of the CARS Tour, an independent short-track series, further highlighting a growing ecosystem of alternative racing ventures.

Another segment of the unsealed communications from the same date reveals a broader discussion among NASCAR officials, including Ben Kennedy, about the implications of team owners and prominent drivers participating in SRX. An unidentified individual expressed disappointment, stating, "They just don’t get it. I’m sure its cool for Justin to go get behind the wheel but there’s no regard for the bigger picture. And maybe that’s on us for not giving them that incentive, I don’t know. But you’ve got Marks, Chase (Elliott), Tony (Stewart) and (Ryan) Blaney racing on a network that competes against our rights holders. They outrated (on television) Xfinity and Trucks last weekend; it isn’t some local dirt track stuff." This comment underscores the concern over SRX’s growing viewership and its potential to siphon audience and driver attention away from NASCAR’s own lower-tier series.

O’Donnell’s response further elaborated on this perceived disloyalty and the complex motivations of drivers and owners. He noted, "Actually you have one of the voices of FOX in Waltrip, an owner of Cup cars in Stewart, our most popular driver for years and one of our champs fathers etc. This is exhibit ‘a’ that nobody gives a shit about what got them their careers. Pay em some money and they are all in. The guy who cried about safety every single day is in a box car without SAFER Barriers and not a care in the world." This statement appears to be a veiled reference to a driver who had previously voiced safety concerns within NASCAR but was participating in SRX under different safety conditions.

O’Donnell continued, referencing the influence of individuals like Michael Jordan, a co-owner of 23XI Racing, and the presence of media personalities such as Marty Smith from ESPN. He expressed frustration over perceived schisms within the NASCAR community, suggesting a lack of unified support. "Lots to get our arms around but sadly any ‘goodwill’ seems to be lost. So smiles all around but behind the scenes we scheme and we win," he wrote, indicating a strategic and perhaps adversarial approach to managing relationships within the sport. He also presciently warned, "Wait until (Dale) Jr. says he is running an event. Matter of time. They will go to North Wilkesboro with Jr. if we are not careful. We need to be the first back."

This foreshadowing proved accurate. The CARS Tour, now co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Justin Marks, did indeed schedule an event at North Wilkesboro Speedway in August 2022, promoted in conjunction with Speedway Motorsports. This move preempted NASCAR’s own return to the iconic track, which occurred in 2023 for the NASCAR All-Star Race. Similarly, NASCAR has since secured a racing lease for Bowman Gray Stadium, a historic short track, and is scheduled to host The Clash there in 2025 and 2026, signaling a strategic effort to reclaim territory and control over key venues.

The concerns articulated in these messages also connect to a broader theme of NASCAR’s attempts to control the racing landscape and prevent the emergence of competing premier series. Phelps’s final message in the exchange directly invoked the specter of the LIV Golf tour, a rival professional golf league that had disrupted the sport. "That’s the key – we need to have everyone understand that this could turn into LIV if we don’t play our cards right," he stated. He added, "We are smarter than they are – but part of the issue is they don’t have the facts and don’t seem to want to take the time to learn or maybe they just don’t care. It’s all about the money and feeling like they have been heard and are respected. The SRX thing is just baffling to me. Why don’t they get it? Oh, they do get it, and it’s a huge FU to us." This sentiment suggests that NASCAR leadership viewed SRX’s actions not as a simple racing pursuit, but as a deliberate act of defiance.

Ultimately, the Superstar Racing Experience did not host a fourth season in 2024. The series’ physical assets were subsequently sold to GMS Race Cars in 2025, marking the end of an endeavor that, from NASCAR’s perspective, represented a significant competitive threat during a critical period of strategic realignment and negotiation within the sport. The unsealed documents provide a rare glimpse into the internal machinations and competitive anxieties that shaped NASCAR’s decisions during this pivotal time.

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