The battle between NASCAR and two of its teams, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, has stretched on for close to a year. The tug-of-war has seen rulings fall on both sides, but the latest news surfaced with a string of profanity-laced emails and text messages from team owner Michael Jordan and other major figures like Steve O’Donnell and Steve Phelps. In the middle of the storm, veteran driver Jeff Burton has made it clear he wants no part in the mudslinging.
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In one exchange, the NBA legend and 23XI co-owner took aim at Joe Gibbs Racing and the 13 organizations that signed NASCAR’s charter deal last September, telling business manager Curtis Polk, “Teams are going to regret not joining us.”
Elsewhere, 23XI president Steve Lauletta bluntly wrote, “Jim dying is probably the answer” when discussing better charter terms, while Denny Hamlin noted how his disdain for the France family runs deep, but because of that, he does not intend to sabotage their own business.
A partially redacted conversation showed Jordan refusing to part with his charters, saying, “I’m not selling even if they were for sale (redacted). What would we do?” Polk quipped back, “This is just a hobby!!!” to which Jordan replied, “Only can play but so much golf.”
NASCAR officials fired back in their own private messages. Steve Phelps admitted negotiations had stalled, calling one early proposal “zero wins for the teams,” and warned the deal “must reflect a middle position or we are dead in the water.”
Steve O’Donnell dismissed an earlier version altogether, blasting it as a return to “1996 terms” with the mindset of “(Expletive) the teams, dictatorship, motorsport, redneck, southern, tiny sport.”
But amid all this chaos, asked recently about the escalating exchanges, Burton kept his distance. He said, “I mean, I’ll be honest with you. Unfortunately, in these things like that, things kind of get ugly from time to time, and you wish they didn’t.
“I’ll be honest, I’m trying to stay away from that. Trying to focus on the racing. We’ve had a lot of great racing this year ’cause the playoffs is the closest it’s ever been. And so, honestly, that’s getting all my energy.”
For now, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports remain locked in their push to reclaim leverage on charters, while NASCAR maintains it cannot be forced to cut deals with teams it does not want to engage.
