Steve Phelps calls Richard Childress a redneck idiot in unsealed text

In text messages produced through fact discovery as part of the 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports v NASCAR antitrust lawsuit, the commissioner of the league made clear how little professional respect he appears to have for veteran team owner Richard Childress.

During a meeting with team owners in 2023, Phelps was receiving text updates from league Chief Media & Revenue Officer Brian Herbst and took several shots at the six-time Cup Series championship winning owner.

This meeting was part of the charter extension contraction negotiations, with Phelps and Herbst hoping to eventually illustrate how potentially perilous the next broadcast rights agreement for the sport could be unless there was industry unity over the next decade.

Herbst was providing updates from the meeting and as the document below shows, Phelps just kept going back to repeatedly insulting Childress. The animus dates back to a SiriusXM NASCAR Radio hit where Childress said some things about the state of the charter negotiations that didn't sit well with NASCAR leadership.

Specifically, Childress said he could build 14 Gen6 cars for the price of seven NextGens. And when asked if the new TV deal could be a positive, he said 'for who?'

"Childress is an idiot. If they don't like the state of the sport, sell your charter and get out."

"Did I mention Childress was an idiot?"

"If he's that angry (and apparently he is) sign your charter extension and sell. He's not smart, is a dinosaur, and a malcontent. He's worth a couple hundred million dollars - every dollar associated with nascar in some fashion. Total ass-clown."

"Childress needs to be taken out back and flogged. He's a stupid redneck who owes his entire fortune to nascar"