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Charlotte, NC – The second day of the high-stakes antitrust trial pitting NASCAR against prominent team owners 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports saw the organization’s leadership, specifically Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer Scott Prime, take the witness stand. The proceedings revealed a complex internal landscape, marked by apparent disagreements within NASCAR’s executive ranks regarding the terms of the charter system and strategic maneuvers to maintain the sport’s dominance.
Under persistent questioning from Jeffrey Kessler, the lead attorney representing the plaintiff teams, Prime was compelled to address a series of unsealed internal communications – emails and text messages – that suggested a divergence of opinion among senior NASCAR officials concerning the financial arrangements offered to Cup Series teams. These documents indicated that figures like Prime, former COO Steve O’Donnell, and former President Steve Phelps harbored reservations about the stringent charter terms championed by CEO Jim France.
One particularly telling email, presented as evidence, featured Prime acknowledging that team owners "have a point" in their negotiations. He cited his understanding that Formula 1 teams receive approximately 50% of their series’ overall revenue, a stark contrast to the 20-25% reportedly allocated to NASCAR Cup Series organizations. This disparity formed a core part of the teams’ argument that NASCAR’s revenue-sharing model is inequitable and stifles their growth.
In a statement that underscored the perceived power imbalance, Prime wrote, "We at NASCAR have all the leverage and the teams will almost have to sign whatever we put in front of them." This assertion, highlighted by Kessler, aimed to portray NASCAR as a dominant entity dictating terms rather than engaging in a collaborative partnership.
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The defense’s efforts to mitigate the impact of these communications were further challenged by a revealing text message exchange from May 21, 2024, involving O’Donnell, Phelps, and Prime. The thread depicted a palpable frustration with the perceived inflexibility of NASCAR’s leadership, particularly concerning charter negotiations.
O’Donnell’s messages conveyed discussions with Lesa France Kennedy, Gary Crotty (NASCAR legal), and Mike Helton (president emeritus), suggesting a sentiment that the meetings were "productive" and that the goal was to "move the needle." However, he also noted that "Teams won’t get everything they want and hopefully we can just meet in the middle." Crucially, O’Donnell expressed his own reservations, questioning how NASCAR’s positions would "grow the sport and position us for a big rights renewal in the future."
Phelps’ responses were even more pointed. Describing the situation as "Insanity" and referencing a chart that showed "zero wins for the teams," he concluded, "The draft must reflect a middle position of we are dead in the water – they will sign them but we are fucked moving forward." Prime’s terse reply, "The approach of ‘here is a bit more money, fuck off everywhere else’ is a bold strategy," further illuminated the internal dissent. O’Donnell then added a sardonic remark attributed to Lesa France Kennedy, suggesting that Mike Helton and Gary Crotty believed they were nearing a "comfortable 1996, fuck the teams, dictatorship, motorsport, redneck, southern, tiny sport."
When questioned by Kessler about this exchange, Prime admitted to experiencing frustration stemming from a meeting with team owners and expressed regret for his language. He contended that NASCAR’s board of directors did consider feedback and made some concessions, though the plaintiff teams characterize these as minor, securing only "two or three" out of thousands of requested items. The core issues of charter permanency, additional revenue distribution, and a more significant voice in decision-making, according to the teams’ counsel, remained unaddressed. Kessler’s summation of this point was direct: "You kept all the power."
A significant portion of the day’s testimony focused on NASCAR’s alleged proactive measures to prevent the emergence of rival racing series. Kessler presented emails dating back to 2020 where Prime articulated concerns about a breakaway series potentially demonstrating "alternatives" to team owners and drivers, referencing the detrimental open-wheel split of the 1990s as a cautionary tale.
The discovery process unearthed discussions among NASCAR leadership about instituting more extensive track exclusivity agreements with Speedway Motorsports (SMI) venues. The objective, as detailed in these communications, was to prevent such tracks from hosting competing series. A specific instance highlighted was NASCAR’s alleged prevention of the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) from competing at SMI tracks, despite SRX’s expressed willingness to contribute financially to alleviate track debt.
When confronted with an email where he thanked Amanda Oliver, Chief Legal Officer, for her assistance in developing track exclusivity details, Prime claimed limited knowledge of the specifics of the agreements and stated he did not directly communicate with tracks. He characterized his role as primarily data aggregation and presentation in slide formats for senior leadership. This defense was met with skepticism from Kessler, who pointedly questioned Prime’s salary – ranging from $200,000-$250,000 previously to $400,000 currently – suggesting it was substantial for someone merely assembling slides. Prime countered, "That’s your opinion."
The trial revealed that NASCAR eventually implemented two-year exclusivity agreements with SMI tracks, extending their validity for an additional four years beyond the contract’s termination. Prime acknowledged in an email that prior single-year agreements left SMI "vulnerable to outside offers," which he interpreted as potential bids from nascent team-backed series or entities like SRX. Prime’s justification for these agreements was the protection of strategically important venues for NASCAR and its teams, and preventing properties from being repurposed for non-racing commercial ventures.
Further scrutiny was directed at "Project Gold Codes," a contingency plan discussed by NASCAR in the event of a mass boycott or failure of charter-holding teams to sign agreements for the 2025 Daytona 500. Prime described this as a "contingency plan," and even suggested a proactive outreach to the Saudi Private Investment Fund to preempt them from engaging with alternative racing entities.
As the day concluded, it was confirmed that Richard Childress, a prominent team owner, is slated to testify. This is particularly noteworthy given Childress’s prior threat of legal action over allegedly disparaging texts produced in discovery, where NASCAR President Steve Phelps reportedly made harsh remarks about him.
Judge Kenneth D. Bell also addressed a request from a non-party team owner seeking to seal their financial testimony, citing a desire to protect proprietary information. Judge Bell expressed reluctance to close court proceedings to the public, citing the risk of a mistrial. Instead, he instructed legal counsel to present financial details in a generalized manner to safeguard sensitive records not extensively detailed in discovery. The potential candidates for this request include owners such as Heather Gibbs, Rick Hendrick, Cal Wells, and Roger Penske, individuals who reportedly support the charter system but have incurred financial losses under the current framework.
The trial is scheduled to resume on Wednesday morning with the cross-examination of Scott Prime by NASCAR’s legal team.
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