23XI, FRM request decision from Judge Bell after NASCAR uses questionable tactic on Richard Childress

Richard Childress took the stand Tuesday in Day 7 of the 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports versus NASCAR antitrust lawsuit trial. While being questioned by NASCAR on cross-examination, a notable news item was revealed.

Childress admitted that he had been shopping an equity stake in his team around. That includes part of his 60% majority ownership. According to Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal, Childress claimed that information was supposed to be under NDA, and he was surprised that NASCAR was aware of the talks.

Clearly, that is information Childress didn’t expect to get out, let alone in front of a jury. After the jury was dismissed, 23XI and FRM wanted a decision of Judge Kenneth Bell on the Childress tactic of the defense, according to Matt Weaver of Motorsport. The teams did not approve of NASCAR using documents that seemingly should have been covered by an NDA. They also requested the documents be turned over to them.

“Mr. Childress certainly thought it shouldn’t have been in their possession,” Bell said.

NASCAR attorney Chris Yates then explained why they brought up information apparently under an NDA. Yates said they were trying to impeach Childress for making inaccurate claims. Bell wasn’t buying that answer. He urged both sides to work together to come to a solution on the matter.

The group Childress was in discussions with about a partial sale of Richard Childress Racing was led by Bobby Hillin Jr. That deal never got across the finish line.

Richard Childress questioned over potential equity stake sale of RCR during NASCAR trial

Childress has had contentious relationships with NASCAR leadership over the years. His time as a team owner spans multiple decades and different variations of France family leadership. This lawsuit has brought out unforeseen circumstances. The Steve Phelps texts are perhaps the most egregious example so far.

Childress is known for being a character. He speaks his mind and isn’t afraid to make people mad. But we didn’t get much out of him Tuesday in regard to those “redneck” comments. According to Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic, Childress declined to comment about the text messages after his testimony. Childress has expressed interest in possibly seeking legal action over the comments.

Phelps, the NASCAR commissioner, reached out to Childress weeks ago to apologize for it, even before those messages were made public. “Stupid redneck” and “idiot” were terms thrown around by Phelps about the longtime NASCAR team owner. During his testimony, Phelps expressed regret over the text messages. However, the actual messages were not entered into evidence. Ahead of the trial, those messages were considered more prejudicial than probative.

On3’s Jonathan Howard contributed to this report.