“So, here we are on December 1st, and this time it’s real, and nobody can ignore it. I think of Dave Moody today. I think of Larry McReynolds. Do they act like it’s not happening? Can they lie to themselves?” A visibly frustrated Kenny Wallace called out NASCAR reporters on Day 1 of the antitrust trial for not giving it enough attention. And now, with the lawsuit settled and Denny Hamlin openly firing back at his critics, Wallace isn’t backing down.

Instead, the former FOX broadcaster is doubling down on his belief that some of NASCAR’s most recognizable media voices failed the moment. As Hamlin takes his long-awaited victory lap on social media, Wallace is peeling back the curtain on how the sport’s inner circle handled (or avoided) the biggest legal fight NASCAR has seen in decades.

Kenny Wallace backs Denny Hamlin

“And now that the court case is over and Denny won, Denny Hamlin is like, Hello, Larry, are you home? [Laughs].”

That line from Kenny Wallace on his recent X post landed with a mix of humor and bite. Because beneath the laughter sat a simple message: the balance of power in NASCAR just shifted, and some longtime NASCAR voices are now being forced to reckon with it.

While the lawsuit between NASCAR, 23XI Racing, and Front Row Motorsports technically ended in a settlement, the outcome felt like a win for Hamlin and his co-owners. The teams were awarded permanent, or “evergreen,” charters, the very security they had been fighting for from the beginning.

For Hamlin, that result validated the risk he took by challenging the sport’s leadership, even as many broadcasters (including McReynolds) publicly questioned his motives.

That history explains why Hamlin wasted little time revisiting old wounds. Just a day earlier, he aimed directly at SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s Dave Moody, posting, “Now that the case is settled and the evidence is out will you or anyone on channel 90 be issuing an apology for what you all said about 23XI/FRM when the lawsuit was filed?”

It wasn’t a random jab. The frustration traces back to Channel 90’s coverage of the lawsuit, especially a tense interview last year with attorney Jeffrey Kessler, who represented both 23XI and Front Row Motorsports. During that interview, Kessler attempted to lay out the antitrust arguments from the team’s side.

However, the conversation quickly turned combative. Hosts pushed back hard, often dismissing his points rather than probing them. Denny Hamlin later accused the network of censoring key facts, claiming the interview was edited or removed because it didn’t align with NASCAR’s ‘preferred narrative.’

Now, Wallace is openly siding with Hamlin, framing the moment as a long-overdue reality check. To him, this isn’t a personal vendetta. It’s plain competition. And in his view, the lawsuit didn’t just change the charter system. It permanently changed how the sport, and those who cover it (McReynolds and Moody included), will be judged.

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NASCAR “changed forever”: What the trial pulled into the open

Kenny Wallace’s bigger point went far beyond Denny Hamlin’s victory lap. In his view, the sport itself crossed a line it can never step back over.

“We all love NASCAR immensely. But we are changed forever. Now we know what Phelps and… just imagine if we never known that,” Wallace said, capturing the uncomfortable reality many fans felt once the courtroom details spilled into public view.

One of the most jarring moments came with the revelation of Steve Phelps’ private text messages about Richard Childress. During the charter negotiations in 2023, Phelps wrote messages that were impossible to ignore once they became public, including, “Childress needs to be taken out back and flogged. He’s a stupid redneck who owes his entire fortune to NASCAR.”

For Wallace, and for a large part of the fanbase, those words shattered the carefully polished image of NASCAR’s leadership. The discomfort didn’t stop there. Heather Gibbs, daughter of Joe Gibbs, also testified about a letter she sent to NASCAR executives in early 2024.

That letter followed a meeting in which she said Phelps offended her by claiming Joe Gibbs Racing spent recklessly on its race team. Coming from one of the sport’s most respected families, that testimony added another layer to the growing sense that internal relationships at NASCAR had frayed badly.

All of it helps explain why, as Bob Pockrass noted, NASCAR has quietly distanced itself from Phelps. When the antitrust settlement was announced in court, Steve O’Donnell was present. Phelps was not. While timing may have played a role, the optics were hard to ignore. Under oath, Phelps admitted he was “not proud of” the texts and apologized, but the damage was already done.

Since then, Phelps has largely faded from public view, while O’Donnell has stepped into a more visible leadership role. Wallace’s takeaway is blunt: fans now know too much to ever go back. NASCAR survived the trial, but the curtain has been pulled back. And the sport will have to live with that exposure.