NASCAR’s Antitrust Trial Intensifies as Internal Communications Reveal Leadership Disagreements on Team Charters

CHARLOTTE, NC – The second day of the antitrust trial pitting NASCAR against its own race teams, spearheaded by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, saw a pivotal figure take the witness stand: Scott Prime, NASCAR’s Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer. His testimony, peppered with the disclosure of internal emails and text messages, illuminated what appeared to be significant rifts within NASCAR’s executive leadership regarding the terms of the coveted charter system and the financial distribution to Cup Series teams.

The unsealed communications painted a picture of internal debate, suggesting that Prime, along with former COO Steve O’Donnell and former President Steve Phelps, harbored reservations about the stringent charter terms CEO Jim France was intent on implementing. These exchanges, presented as evidence by the teams’ lead attorney, Jeffrey Kessler, indicated a belief among these executives that team owners possessed valid points in their negotiations, particularly when contrasted with revenue-sharing models in other major motorsport disciplines.

One particularly striking email from Prime to his colleagues highlighted this disparity. He noted that Formula 1 teams typically receive 50% of overall revenue, while NASCAR Cup Series organizations were being offered a significantly smaller share, ranging from 20% to 25%. This email, used as a key exhibit, also contained Prime’s candid assessment of NASCAR’s leverage: "We at NASCAR have all the leverage and the teams will almost have to sign whatever we put in front of them." This statement, delivered under oath, was aimed at underscoring the plaintiffs’ argument that NASCAR’s market dominance inherently limits the bargaining power of individual teams.

The defense, however, sought to contextualize these communications as expressions of frustration rather than definitive policy stances. Prime acknowledged the sentiment of frustration during his testimony, admitting regret over his language in a particular text message exchange from May 21, 2024. This exchange, involving O’Donnell, Phelps, and Prime, offered a stark glimpse into the internal discussions:

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O’Donnell: "Lesa called. ‘Spoke to Gary (Crotty, NASCAR legal), Mike (Helton, president emeritus) and Jim (France). They all thought meeting was productive and that we just need to keep trying to move the needle. Teams won’t get everything they want and hopefully we can just meet in the middle. I just listened as she didn’t want to hear any opinions but I of course didn’t hold back. I just asked for someone in the mtg to point out how any of our positions are going to grow the sport and position us for a big rights renewal in the future.’"

Phelps: "Productive? Insanity. Look at the Amanda (Oliver, Chief Legal Officer) chart – zero wins for the teams."

Phelps: "The draft must reflect a middle position of we are dead in the water – they will sign them but we are fucked moving forward. I feel better now. Thanks for that."

Prime: "The approach of ‘here is a bit more money, fuck off everywhere else’ is a bold strategy."

O’Donnell: "And one that Lesa said both Mike and Gary thought is getting us close. Close to a comfortable 1996, fuck the teams, dictatorship, motorsport, redneck, southern, tiny sport."

Kessler pressed Prime on whether this exchange reflected a genuine inability to influence NASCAR’s patriarch, Jim France. Prime conceded frustration stemming from meetings with team owners but maintained that his language was regrettable. He also asserted that NASCAR’s board of directors did consider feedback, leading to the inclusion of some additional team requests. However, 23XI and Front Row attorneys countered that these concessions amounted to securing only "two or three" concessions from thousands of proposed line items.

The core of the dispute over charter terms revolves around permanency, financial distribution, and a voice in decision-making. While Prime contended that NASCAR offered "significant protections" to the teams, the plaintiffs’ legal counsel argued that fundamental issues like charter permanency, increased revenue sharing, and a genuine seat at the table in strategic decisions remained unaddressed. Kessler’s pointed summation to Prime, "You kept all the power," encapsulated the plaintiffs’ central argument regarding NASCAR’s control over the sport’s ecosystem.

Beyond the immediate charter negotiations, Kessler also focused on Prime’s role in developing strategies to mitigate the threat of breakaway racing series. Evidence presented suggested that as early as 2020, Prime expressed concerns via email about the potential for rival series to lure teams and drivers, citing the cautionary tale of the open-wheel split that fragmented North American open-wheel racing in the 1990s. He advocated for NASCAR to "want to avoid a CART/IRL scenario."

This concern, according to the presented emails, led to discussions about strengthening track exclusivity agreements with Speedway Motorsports (SMI) venues. The aim was to prevent these tracks from hosting competitor series. A notable instance involved NASCAR preventing the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) from competing at SMI tracks, even when those tracks sought the series to help alleviate debt.

When questioned about an email where he thanked Amanda Oliver for her assistance in detailing track exclusivity, Prime claimed limited knowledge of the agreement’s specifics and denied direct communication with tracks. He characterized his role as primarily data aggregation and presentation to senior leadership in PowerPoint format. This assertion was met with skepticism by Kessler, who questioned the substantial salary Prime commanded – between $200,000-$250,000 annually at the time of the emails, and now $400,000 – for what Kessler characterized as merely "putting slides together for someone else." Prime defended his compensation as a matter of opinion.

The trial also delved into NASCAR’s implementation of two-year exclusivity agreements with tracks, which extended for four years beyond the contract’s termination. Prime’s earlier email communications suggested that these older, single-year agreements left Speedway Motorsports "vulnerable to outside offers," a clear reference to potential rival series or alternative racing entities. Prime, however, framed these exclusivity deals as a necessary measure to safeguard crucial tracks and prevent their repurposing for non-motorsport uses by entities like Amazon or Google, rather than purely to stifle competition.

Further complicating the narrative, Kessler scrutinized "Project Gold Codes," a contingency plan developed by NASCAR in anticipation of a potential boycott by charter-holding teams or their refusal to sign the 2025 charter agreement. Prime described this as a standard "contingency plan." The discussion also touched upon proactive outreach to the Saudi Private Investment Fund, a strategy Prime suggested to preempt them from engaging with alternative racing entities like the Race Team Alliance or SRX.

As the day concluded, it was revealed that Richard Childress, a prominent team owner, is slated to testify. This is particularly noteworthy given Childress’s prior threats of legal action concerning texts that surfaced during discovery, where NASCAR executives allegedly disparaged him.

The court also addressed a request from a non-party team owner who sought to shield their specific financial information from public disclosure during their testimony. Judge Kenneth D. Bell indicated his reluctance to seal court proceedings, citing the risk of a retrial. Instead, he proposed that legal counsel present financial details in a generalized manner to protect sensitive, unproduced, or undeposed information. This request highlights the broader concerns among team owners regarding financial transparency within the sport.

The witness list for upcoming proceedings includes other influential figures such as Heather Gibbs, Rick Hendrick, Cal Wells, and Roger Penske, suggesting a comprehensive examination of the charter system’s impact on various ownership groups. The unidentified team owner who made the financial disclosure request was described as a proponent of the charter system who has nevertheless incurred substantial financial losses under the current structure.

Court proceedings are scheduled to resume on Wednesday morning with the continued cross-examination of Scott Prime by NASCAR’s legal representation. The revelations from Day 2 have intensified the scrutiny on NASCAR’s internal decision-making processes and its relationship with the teams that form the bedrock of its premier Cup Series.

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