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The ongoing antitrust trial involving 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports against NASCAR has seen the now-defunct Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) emerge as a significant, albeit unexpected, focal point. Over four days of proceedings, legal arguments and unearthed communications have begun to illustrate how NASCAR’s leadership perceived and reacted to SRX, a rival series that, according to plaintiffs, may have influenced NASCAR’s actions and potentially harmed competition within the premier stock car racing sphere.
Attorneys for 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, led by Jeffrey Kessler, have dedicated considerable questioning to NASCAR executives, including President Steve O’Donnell and EVP of Strategy Scott Prime. The line of inquiry aims to establish that NASCAR’s decision-makers grew increasingly cognizant of SRX as a potential competitor and responded with tangible measures. This narrative is crucial to the core of the lawsuit, which seeks to determine whether NASCAR has leveraged its dominant position in stock car racing to stifle competition or disadvantage entities like race teams. The persistent reappearance of SRX in the trial’s discourse signals its importance beyond incidental mention.
Evidence presented suggests NASCAR’s apprehension regarding SRX began to escalate during the summer of 2022, coinciding with the second season of the midweek short-track series. This period was also marked by critical negotiations with teams over the terms of a charter agreement extension. Internal discussions, as referenced by Prime, revealed a concern within NASCAR about the possibility of teams and drivers opting to race in SRX if they were to reject NASCAR’s proposals. This concern intensified as NASCAR began to perceive SRX as encroaching on its identity.
Initially conceived in 2021 as a series featuring retired racing legends on a mix of dirt and paved short tracks, with a "local hero" participating at each venue, SRX evolved. By its second year, Cup Series drivers began appearing more frequently. The 2023 season saw Brad Keselowski compete full-time, with notable cameos from Cup Series regulars like Kyle Busch, Chase Briscoe, and Chase Elliott. This shift prompted a reaction from NASCAR.
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"I recall we all became concerned with the look and the feel of the series, yes," O’Donnell testified when questioned by Kessler. While O’Donnell acknowledged that the 2016-2024 charter agreement did not explicitly prohibit drivers from participating in other series, the involvement of team owners such as Denny Hamlin and Justin Marks in SRX events became a particular point of concern for NASCAR leadership. The fact that SRX was co-founded by Tony Stewart, a prominent team owner at the time, further amplified these anxieties.
O’Donnell recounted a conversation with Brett Frood, then-president of Stewart-Haas Racing, which temporarily allayed some concerns. "I learned from Brett Frood that the original plan was to not look like NASCAR, feature NASCAR drivers," O’Donnell stated. "But these are all things that ended up happening."
The perceived threat of SRX prompted a notable exchange among NASCAR executives on June 29, 2022. In a discovered conversation, O’Donnell inquired, "Justin Marks is racing SRX?" Ben Kennedy responded, "Saw that too. Disappointing." Scott Prime elaborated on the sentiment: "They just don’t get it. I’m sure it’s 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."
O’Donnell’s response revealed a broader strategic concern: "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. And by the way, who does Curtis (Polk, 23XI co-owner) have hanging with (Michael Jordan) over the weekend in Nashville? Not Ben, not me or (Scott) Prime or anyone – Marty Smith from ESPN. Coincidence? 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 further speculated about Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s potential involvement, stating, "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." Prime concurred, suggesting North Wilkesboro and Bowman Gray for the following year with Earnhardt Jr. and friends if NASCAR didn’t act. O’Donnell proposed a combined All-Star event at Bowman Gray and Wilkesboro for Friday/Sunday, with Prime agreeing that "We’ve got moves to make." Phelps emphasized the need to manage the situation, stating, "That’s the key – we need to have everyone understand that this could turn into LIV if we don’t play our cards right. 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 internal communication directly preceded NASCAR’s decision to add both North Wilkesboro (2023) and Bowman Gray (2025) to the Cup Series schedule. Speedway Motorsports, which operates several tracks on the Cup Series calendar, reportedly sought to schedule an SRX date in 2024 for financial reasons but was reportedly blocked by NASCAR due to exclusionary clauses in track agreements. O’Donnell explained that NASCAR’s refusal was tied to ongoing negotiations for a new broadcast rights agreement. "SRX started to look like NASCAR, so we said no," he testified, adding that NASCAR aimed to "gain as much TV revenue for the teams and tracks as possible." This suggests NASCAR viewed SRX’s growing prominence, especially on broadcast platforms, as a potential impediment to their own media rights negotiations and a source of market confusion.
Further evidence of NASCAR’s concern emerged in a February 1, 2023 text exchange between Phelps and O’Donnell. Phelps wrote, "Oh great, another owner racing in SRX." O’Donnell responded, "This is NASCAR. Pure and simple. Enough. We need legal to take a shot at this." Phelps added, "These guys are just plain stupid. Need to put a knife in this trash series." When questioned about his desire for legal intervention, O’Donnell stated, "I thought it looked more and more like NASCAR." He clarified that he "just wanted legal to take a look at it," rather than explicitly wanting SRX stopped.
Regarding the addition of North Wilkesboro and Bowman Gray to the Cup Series schedule, Kessler framed these moves as anti-competitive. O’Donnell countered by referencing the long-standing relationship between NASCAR and the Bowman Gray Stadium promoters, the Frances, and Speedway Motorsports’ request for a Cup race at North Wilkesboro, which NASCAR granted. Kessler, however, emphasized that these scheduling decisions followed text exchanges explicitly discussing bringing the Cup Series to these tracks in response to the SRX threat.
SRX ultimately ceased operations, announcing its closure in January 2024, with the specific reasons remaining undisclosed. O’Donnell acknowledged that he "thinks about it every day" concerning the possibility of breakaway series and that assessing potential threats to NASCAR’s business is part of his role.
The trial has also delved into the team owners’ perspectives on the financial health of the sport. O’Donnell’s notes from a March 2022 meeting with team owners regarding charter negotiations indicate an acknowledgment of the current model being "broken" for competitors, with teams potentially being "one lost sponsors away from going out of business." His notes detail a composite financial report showing car entry costs at $20 million per season, a figure O’Donnell took at face value, recognizing that "the industry was challenged." At the time, the charter agreement allocated 65% of broadcast rights revenue to tracks, 25% to teams, and 10% to NASCAR. Curtis Polk, representing 23XI, articulated three primary team goals: maximizing broadcast rights revenue, increasing competition, and implementing a spending salary cap.
During this meeting, Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports reportedly inquired if the France family was "open to a new financial model" to support teams. Ben Kennedy reportedly indicated yes, but when questioned by Kessler, O’Donnell stated, "No," suggesting a divergence in responses or interpretations.
A handwritten note from O’Donnell dated February 14, 2023, expressed hope for a younger leadership within NASCAR, noting that the "legacy mindset" in the NASCAR Board "inhibited growth." He suggested that Jim France, then 81, represented a barrier to progress. Despite efforts to negotiate with the elder France, O’Donnell conceded that "Mr. France was the brick wall in the negotiations," a sentiment echoed in Prime’s text messages. O’Donnell, a long-serving NASCAR executive, maintained a professional demeanor, emphasizing his role in growing the sport for all stakeholders, including bosses, teams, and fans. He cited the France family’s directive not to hire "Yes People" as justification for speaking up on broader issues.
NASCAR also presented evidence of its own significant investments and financial risks. O’Donnell testified that the three-year experiment of racing in downtown Chicago incurred a $55 million loss for NASCAR, undertaken as a "strategic investment" to secure Amazon as a broadcast partner. Similarly, a reported $6 million loss from racing in Mexico City was attributed to the importance of Amazon’s involvement, which contributed an additional $1 million to the race purse. Kessler questioned the precise accounting of these losses, with O’Donnell attributing the remaining figures to "logistics."
The trial also featured the cross-examination of Bob Jenkins, owner of Front Row Motorsports. NASCAR attorneys attempted to demonstrate that Jenkins had misrepresented FRM’s financials, pointing to discovery documents showing FRM’s highest expenditure on a Cup car at $14 million, contrary to Jenkins’ testimony of a $20 million cost. Jenkins clarified that the $20 million figure represented an aggregate for multiple teams. He also conceded that including a $1.2 million loss from his unrelated Truck Series team in the lawsuit’s damages claim was an error.
A key argument from 23XI and Front Row centers on NASCAR’s "take it or leave it" final charter offer on September 6, 2024, which they characterize as monopolistic behavior. NASCAR attorney Lawrence Buterman presented evidence of Jenkins employing a similar approach in 2021 with Denny Hamlin regarding a proposed merger between their teams, where Jenkins set a 5 p.m. deadline for a decision. Jenkins countered that this was a necessary step due to Ford and Roush’s need for clarity on his potential move to Toyota. He also defended his contractual exclusivity clauses with drivers and track exclusivity clauses as distinct from the charter goodwill provisions, arguing that Hamlin had alternative options to acquire charters.
The pace of the trial itself became a point of contention, with Judge Kenneth D. Bell criticizing the slow progress and the redundancy of testimony. He urged witnesses to be more direct and avoid lengthy explanations, suggesting that acknowledging uncomfortable truths and moving forward was more efficient. Bell expressed concern about extending the trial beyond its initial two-week estimate, especially with the holidays approaching, stating a further delay would be "unacceptable." NASCAR’s attempt to call Roger Penske out of order was denied, as Bell prioritized maintaining the narrative flow for the jury.
The trial continues, with the SRX series’ legacy casting a long, complex shadow over NASCAR’s alleged monopolistic practices and the ongoing struggle for a more equitable distribution of revenue and power within the sport.
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