After the eighth day of the trial between NASCAR and 23XI Racing/Front Row Motorsports, the two sides agreed to a settlement before the ninth day of testimony began.
Read all of Frontstretch’s content covering the NASCAR vs. 23XI/FRM antitrust lawsuit here
The agreement ended the months-long process that saw two premier Cup Series organizations stripped of their charter status and forced to race as open teams in late-season events. The resulting trial from their lawsuit gave fans a first-ever glimpse into the financials of their favorite professional sports league, revealing ugly truths that brought the sport as a whole crashing down to a stark reality.
If you find any part of that last paragraph to be hyperbole, think again. The trial might be over, but the fallout from it is just beginning. The two sides essentially settled on a package that grants permanent charters to teams, allowing them to operate as franchises, and includes additional financial compensation that the teams sought.
Our opinion on those results doesn’t matter at this point – they are what they are. However, what happens next is arguably more interesting than the settlement’s outcome. Make no mistake about it, the teams appeared to be winning this trial up until a settlement was reached, and they were doing so by getting high-ranking NASCAR executives on the witness stand under oath and making them look horrendous to the jury and, by association, the entire professional racing community as a whole.
Just in the last few days of the trial…
- NASCAR CEO Jim France went full Jimmy Hoffa and essentially pleaded the fifth to entire lines of questioning regarding the business his family has owned since its inception.
- NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps called one of the sport’s most prominent team owners a “stupid redneck” in a text chain, which was then publicly broadcast throughout the NASCAR Twitterverse.
- An additional note on Childress: NASCAR later entered discovery documents regarding a potential sale of his team (one that fell through) which Childress claimed were protected by a Non-Disclosure Agreement. This story remains unsettled.
- NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell admitted to wanting to kill off SRX for essentially looking too much like NASCAR, in that they were cars racing around an oval track and turning left (watch out USAC, Lucas Oil, High Limit, and many others).
- NASCAR CFO Greg Motto admitted to manipulating the France family’s taxes through NASCAR. The teams’ attorney, Jerry Kessler, called it “a contract between me and myself.”
- NASCAR Chief Racing Development Officer John Probst admitted that he contributed heavily to the development of the Gold Codes, a contingency plan for NASCAR in the event of a boycott of the 2024 charter negotiations, which would have seen NASCAR run its own cars, drivers, and teams. Probst said he contributed to the Gold Codes because he believed NASCAR would have to run its own vehicles, drivers, and teams if such a holdout took place.
Those are just the lowlights of what could be a list that runs dozens of pages. In this business, we call a public information dump of that size and type a crisis, and now, NASCAR will go into crisis management mode.
So, what does that look like?
Fans can expect NASCAR PR to act as though everything is fine in the public eye. They’ll attempt to shift the conversation directly back to topics like a soon-to-be-tweaked postseason format, new OEMs joining the sport, more horsepower in Cup cars come 2026, and several other PR wins to make the trial aftermath as quiet as possible.
However, real damage has been done to the credibility of these executives in NASCAR. With sponsors like the founder of Bass Pro Shops, Johnny Morris, now being incredibly vocal in their dislike of said executives, moves will more than likely be made behind the scenes.
What typically happens in these situations is that nobody is fired. They begin to actively search for other roles, instead, and that search tends to be encouraged behind closed doors. Usually, the person who goes first is the one who took the most public lashing, and in that case, it would be both Phelps and O’Donnell.
Morris’s beef was primarily with Phelps and company, and as one of the sport’s premier sponsors, his company pays many of the bills. Phelps’ mockery of Childress was also taken as a slight against the sport’s fans. Welp, based on their flood of public and private comments to Frontstretch throughout this trial, there’s plenty of proof these “rednecks” can, in fact, read. I would imagine the hunt for a NASCAR Commissioner will begin and end before the season starts, if Phelps decides to exit the company on his own terms.
While he was promoted to Commissioner in March of this year, Phelps has spent upwards of two decades with the company. But the position he’s got is very much a face that NASCAR wants in the public eye, and now that he is actively hurting that image with the fan base, it makes sense to move on. It’s notable Phelps did not speak as settlement talks concluded Thursday (Dec. 11) and did not have a public-facing role outside the courthouse.
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Phelps doesn’t seem like the type to take a back-office role. His style is outward-facing, and it doesn’t seem like he’ll have much success doing so in NASCAR from now on. However, at age 62, it makes one wonder what company would have him in a similar role at this stage.
As for O’Donnell, he’s going to be harder to replace. A NASCAR employee for 30 years now, O’Donnell’s ties to the France family run deep. However, his relationship with the teams at this point is fractured at best and completely broken at worst. As the president of the company, the teams would more than likely rather have someone in that position with whom they’re on better footing.
Unlike Phelps, though, O’Donnell has worked in back-office roles before. For more than a decade, he worked in racing operations. If either of the two were to stay with the company for the long haul after this, I would imagine it to be O’Donnell, but in a more reserved role than the one he currently finds himself in.
As for the executive who will most likely stay put, CFO Greg Motto more than likely isn’t going anywhere, barring any other legal action. Motto was accused of showing different numbers to shareholders than those shown to the jury at trial. However, it isn’t as if he was showing those numbers to a large holdings meeting as if it were a publicly traded company. As we know, NASCAR is privately owned and can therefore keep all financials in-house.
As with most accountants or money-movers, they tend to keep clients around throughout their tenure. If a swap is made at that position, it’s much harder to bring a new hire up to speed than it is with other hires. Additionally, the CFO position is one of the least forward-facing in the executive branch, and thus, most people will probably forget Motto exists again within the next few months. And I’m sure both NASCAR and Motto are just OK with that.
The toss-up appears to be John Probst. He came under heavy scrutiny during cross-examination by Jerry Kessler, but said he couldn’t understand the “legalese” of Kessler’s line of questioning. As the Chief Racing Development Officer, he would more than likely be an easier replacement than the others. There is a litany of engineers whose checks NASCAR signs, and many of them in the building would jump at that particular role.
That said, while Probst didn’t help NASCAR’s case all that much, he by no means did the most damage to it during the trial. This one will fall squarely on the shoulders of NASCAR and its sponsors’ wishes. If the powers that be desire a clean sweep of the executive board, then it’s hard to imagine Probst doesn’t get caught in the crosshairs. However, Probst could also be kept on in this new power dynamic that will see the teams have more leverage than ever before. He’s the group’s most significant question mark.
I find that exact new power dynamic something worth ending on. This case is over, and that’s fantastic news for all involved. However, what this case did more than anything else was open a door. It proved that the power of the teams in this era of the sport can be both litigated and expanded. I don’t think I’m alone in saying that this trial is the last case we’ll see of this nature – especially if NASCAR doesn’t learn to play ball and work together with their new permanent stakeholders. Instead, I think we’ll all become a bit more court-savvy over the next few years, whether we want to or not.
Follow Tanner Marlar on X at @tanner_marlar
Tanner Marlar is a staff writer for Sports Illustrated’s OnSI Network, a contributor for multiple automotive news outlets, an award-winning sports columnist and talk show host, and a PhD. student at a premier college of media and mass communication. Tanner began working with Frontstretch in 2022, covering the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series.
They are all very important and very needed, just ask them, or wait until they tell you.
Unless the France family fires themselves, and either sells or turns control over to someone competent, the problems will likely continue, and may eventually result in NASCAR folding altogether.
The family is clearly accustomed to a life of privilege, where their voices carry the most weight in most rooms. They do not take any challenge to their opinions or authority with grace. They do not view other people in the sport, or the fans of the sport as equals. Simply put, they are entitled bullies.
I’d imagine most of the NASCAR brass without the last name “France” will be ushered out the door or given a window seat. Given the myriad gaffes they’ve made, this looks to be a deserved outcome.
That said, it repeatedly came up during testimony that Jim France viewed any change which would result in ceding even a wisp of control as a non-starter. I do think many of these execs would have failed either way, as the person with ultimate authority is one of the aforementioned entitled bullies. Unfortunately for the family, as influential as they are, they aren’t quite powerful enough to continue getting away with this conduct, as this suit has shown, and fans have shown given the recent viewership numbers.
Yes, very interesting that Jim France said permanent charters was a non-starter, and yet the settlement includes permanent charters.
Absolutely. I thought that news was awesome. Had JF conceded that sooner most of this would have not become public
Very well said…I agree , but will wait to see if anything other than permanent Charters change. How dare anyone tell us what to do has been the mantra for so long we just accept it. Hopefully this settlement forces that needed change.
Fingers crossed!!!
Steve Phelps HAS to go. In my assessment, that is non-negotiable.
“Motto was accused of showing different numbers to shareholders than those shown to the jury at trial.”
I wonder still what numbers the TV networks were shown?
If there were no court case, none of these comments would have been made. But there was…can’t take them back. What exactly would be served by the removal of any of the executives? Some of you spent too much time watching The Apprentice. Firing somebody doesn’t fix all your operational problems. Phelps should never have said what he said in writing…because it can be used against him. This was a highly stressed time on everyone involved. Phelps was frustrated with both sides and committed ‘original sin’ by writing what he really was thinking. I believe the best thing for the sport is to continue “as is” with existing management. RC has had his moments of anger…he will understand the situation better than people who’s only involvement is watching races.
Funny, his comments are cause for dismissal, but dangerous and irresponsible comments coming from the Nation’s Capitol are applauded. But then I’m old school and believe that college is for educating people : not for training professional athletes. Sorry, I feel like such a redneck idiot for typing that.
When the lawsuit was first file I honestly didn’t pay any attention. It was only when the information during the trial came out did I start reading with interest
NASCAR has always operated in our way or the highway but it is a different world and choosing to disparage owners, fans and sponsors at a time when it is no longer at a high point makes no sense
Decisions were made that have turned diehard fans into casual or completely disinterested ones
That is ALL on the France family and its minions what a surprise it appears to be that the fans are literate.
You reap what you sow.