23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports’ antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR spread like wildfire, and even months after the final settlement, the flames have not been put out. Recent revelations in the transcripts reveal something dire for the sport’s integrity. And Richard Childress, who revolved around the entire lawsuit, might be preparing to make a few trips around the courthouse once again, as a shocking new reveal has exposed the man at the center of the controversy.

NASCAR’s law firm, RCR’s sale, and the conflict of interest

According to earlier reports, Richard Childress was attempting to sell a part of his team, RCR, to some potential buyers early in 2025. However, some of this confidential information was revealed in the court during the antitrust lawsuit trial, which left Childress aghast.

As it was revealed recently, Latham & Watkins, the firm representing NASCAR, also represented Bobby Hillin Jr, who happens to be one of the interested buyers for Richard Childress Racing.

During one of their meetings, the team shared some confidential documents with Hillin, and he signed an NDA regarding the same. Understandably, his law firm had access to those documents, but under the law, that information cannot be used in a separate lawsuit, which is exactly what they did.

Now, according to insider Shannon Hansen, there was another individual in the law firm who might have been interested in being a part of the group that was going to make the RCR purchase, and hence, Chris Yates brought it up in the discussion with Richard Childress.

Either way, this raised questions regarding the ethical conduct of Latham & Watkins. Regardless of how they got in possession of the information, it shouldn’t have been used in a separate lawsuit, but they brought it up anyway. Considering the NDA that Hillin had signed, this was a huge revelation in the courtroom.

As per the transcripts, Richard Childress was directly asked about the discussions of a potential sale of a portion of the team to Bobby Hillin earlier in 2025. He replied positively and was then asked about RCR potentially buying a third charter. Replying to this, Childress revealed that he further gave Hillin a termination letter as “they didn’t have the money.”

Is Richard Childress considering another lawsuit?

With the revelation made, it is quite apparent how Latham & Watkins got hold of the confidential information. While that in itself would have been fine, Yates’s bringing it up in the cross-questioning with Richard Childress was labeled unethical by many. The lawsuit was settled later in December, with NASCAR making the charters permanent, agreeing with the teams’ many demands, but it left a deep impact on Childress.

First were the derogatory remarks made against him by the former commissioner, Steve Phelps. He ended up resigning from NASCAR. Now, with the ethical questions being raised against NASCAR and the law firm, Richard Childress might actually be considering a lawsuit for the same.

As mentioned, Bobby Hillin Jr. had signed an NDA before RCR revealed the sensitive information to him. It contained the team’s financials, etc., and was understandably very confidential. And so, using something like that in a court hearing is seemingly unethical.

Richard Childress Racing has been struggling for the past few years. In fact, Childress had also revealed that he “would not have signed those charters if [he] was financially able to do what [he] do.” So it was apparent why he was looking for new investors. But anyway, being served the same information back in court was not something he, or anyone in the RCR crew, expected.

There is currently no confirmation if Richard Childress will end up going the legal way, considering their finances. However, this entire scenario reveals a major flaw in the legal system, and Hillin might be threading the needle at this point.