“I’ve never seen NASCAR in this bad of shape.” Those were veteran racer Kenny Wallace’s words to describe the extremely intense, explosive text messages that have gripped the motorsport world for over a week now. Countless emails, text messages, and documents were made public as part of the buildup to the antitrust lawsuit filed by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports against NASCAR, for the trial set to begin on December 1.

With the sports’ top brass involved, like NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps and President Steve O’Donnell, it has become a serious matter. With O’Donnell making comments and driving “a knife” to “trash this series,” Wallace couldn’t help but defend the organization this time around.

Kenny Wallace breaks down the motive behind the texts

Kenny Wallace has cracked it. Speaking on Chase Holden’s YouTube video, the 62-year-old played the white knight. He said, “So, SRX was supposed to be for us older, retired drivers. Lots of fun. Then all of a sudden, Denny Hamlin, then our main drivers were going over there. And they were on ESPN, their competitors. And the ratings were bigger than Truck and Xfinity. So these emails that we’re seeing, they’re not brand new. Obviously, SRX has been gone for two years… And the reason they want to put a knife in SRX is because their drivers were hurting them by going over there while NASCAR was negotiating for a billion-dollar-a-year contract. So I understood that one.”

At that time, the Superstar Racing Experience was preparing for its third season, its first on ESPN and on Thursday nights following a two-year run on CBS on Saturday evenings. The shift schedule opened the door for more active Cup Series drivers to participate, a move that quickly drew the ire of NASCAR leadership. SRX had been founded by Tony Stewart, Ray Evernham, George Pyne, and Sandy Montag, with Evernham departing after the inaugural 2021 season. Donald Hawk then stepped in as CEO for the 2022 and 2023 campaigns.

The text messages in question emerged after documents related to the 23XI Racing and FRM v. NASCAR antitrust lawsuit were unsealed last Friday. In the messages, Phelps wrote, “Oh great, another owner racing in SRX,” to which O’Donnell replied, “This is NASCAR. Pure and simple. Enough. We need legal to take a shot at this.”

Phelps followed up with, “These guys are just plain stupid. Need to put a knife in this trash series.” The implication behind the exchange, presumably, was that SRX was encroaching on NASCAR’s intellectual property by featuring current drivers from the sport.

The previous summer, Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks had competed in an SRX event at Stafford Motor Speedway, sparking an internal discussion about the perceived threat of another series operating in the nationally televised stock car space.

Additional text from June 29, 2022, was also revealed, and it takes on added significance when viewed through the lens of the brewing charter negotiation tensions and the eventual purchase of the CARS Tour by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Marks.

In a sense, the CARS Tour event beat NASCAR back to North Wilkesboro by hosting an event there in August 2022, prompted by XR alongside Speedway Motorsports, before NASCAR returned for the All-Star race at the restored facility in 2023.

NASCAR later revisited Bowman Gray for The Clash this year and will return in 2026 after securing the racing lease to the venue last year. Meanwhile, SRX did not continue into a fourth season in 2024, and its physical assets were ultimately sold to GMS Race Cars in 2025. And while Kenny Wallace understood the sentiment behind the set of messages, there were other exchanges that the veteran stood against.

Wallace provides a solution for Childress and Phelps’s drama

The racing community was shaken when text messages between NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps and executive Brian Herbst came to light through the antitrust lawsuit. The messages included harsh remarks aimed at Richard Childress, the longtime owner of Richard Childress Racing, referring to him as a “stupid redneck,” a “dinosaur,” and an “a-s-clown,” along with a disturbing suggestion that Childress should be “taken out back and flogged.” This shook the NASCAR world entirely.

Wallace brought these texts to the forefront in his coffee with Kenny episode, stressing the gravity of what had been revealed. Calling for immediate action, the veteran outlined what he believed were necessary steps to mend the fractured relationships. The 62-year-old driver argued that top NASCAR executives must personally confront the issue with Childress.

Wallace insisted, “First thing you have to do is get on your jet and fly up to Welcome, North Carolina. Jim France needs to sit down with Richard Childress. And it would probably be best if Steve Phelps came along.”

This also underscores the importance of transparency, with Wallace stating that whatever corrective action NASCAR has taken should be made public to maintain trust. His expectation was clear, saying, “Damage control means having a press conference with everybody.”

Whether Richard Childress receives an apology or not is yet to be seen, but for now, this past week has already set the stage for the trial next week to be one of the biggest showdowns in NASCAR.