Steve Phelps is at the center of a new controversy after conversations between him and other NASCAR executives became public. As these texts surfaced, Mark Martin shared his reaction.The set of messages involves Phelps speaking about Richard Childress in harsh terms. Childress is a longtime team owner with six Cup titles, and the texts show how tense the relationship had become during charter talks.The screenshots were first posted by reporter Bob Pockrass on X. The basic point of the conversation was Steve Phelps expressing frustration toward Childress while receiving updates from Brian Herbst during a 2023 meeting with teams. One message from Steve Phelps read:“Childress needs to be taken out back and flogged. He’s a stupid redneck who owes his entire fortune to NASCAR.”The rest of the thread showed Phelps repeating that Childress was short-sighted and that if he disliked the direction of the sport, he should sell his charter and leave. In response to this thread, Mark Martin shared his own reaction. He wrote:“This has been going on in the sport I love. I’m just disappointed all the way around. There were plenty of problems before Charters and the RTA but I’m not sure how you ever fix all this now.”The texts came from fact discovery in the antitrust case filed by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports. According to Motorsport.com’s Matt Weaver, the discussion was tied to future media rights and the need for the industry to stay unified.Weaver also reported that Phelps had warned executives about the risks of the next broadcast deal and spoke with Justin Marks and others about the pressure the sport faced.Steve Phelps says the lawsuit will not stop NASCAR from moving forwardSteve Phelps addressed the fallout from the 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports lawsuit after his private messages were released. He said the sport is still heading toward a stronger future even though comments from both sides caused problems during the legal process.The lawsuit made text exchanges between Steve Phelps and NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell public. The teams filed a summary motion to support their claim that NASCAR acted like a monopoly.NASCAR responded with its own filing and letters from several team owners, but the judge dismissed NASCAR’s counterclaim, which weakened its legal standing. At Phoenix Raceway, Phelps said the dispute would not stop progress inside the sport. Motorsport.com quoted him saying: “The interest from private equity has never been higher.”Phelps admitted that some comments made by him and O’Donnell should not have become public and said teams likely felt the same way about their own messages. Steve Phelps explained that NASCAR is a resilient sport and that employees have stayed focused on growth.The charter details revealed in court added more attention to the issue. The documents show teams are paid 141,000 dollars per race, and drivers earn far less when they finish at the back.