Steve O’Donnell confronted over SRX threat as he testifies in NASCAR vs. 23XI, FRM lawsuit battle 

NASCAR president Steve O'Donnell faced the heat over his internal text messages against Superstar Racing Series(SRX). The executive was questioned by 23XI attorney Jefferey Kessler when the former provided witness testimony on Thursday.

Internal text exchanges between Steve Phelps and O'Donnell revealed the leadership's distrust of SRX. O'Donnell hoped to take legal action against the Tony Stewart-owned series, while Phelps wanted to 'put a knife' in the 'trash series'.

The interaction has gained traction both online and during Thursday's proceedings, as Kessler accused O'Donnell of anti-competitive practices. NASCAR analyst Matt Weaver reported on the turn of events, writing,

"OD says he became increasingly concerned about SRX in Year 2 and 3 as 'it started to look more and more like NASCAR' with active Cup drivers"

"OD says repeatedly that his definition of a competitor is 'look and feel' like NASCAR, but Kessler points out that isn't how the exclusivity contracts are written as it contains the word 'any' regarding competition, albeit with exceptions."

"On denying SMI an exception to host SRX event(s), O'Donnell says this was during a broadcast rights negotiation period and 'we wanted to gain as much TV revenue for the teams and tracks' as possible."

Matt Weaver

@MattWeaverRA

Quick break Steve O'Donnell has been on the stand for the past two hours under questioning from Jeffrey Kessler The principal topics Kessler is using OD to build a case around is how NASCAR viewed SRX as an emerging competitor and the decisions made to mitigate the threat and

Kessler pointed out that the non-compete clauses prevent rival series from gaining any ground. O'Donnell also said that the original five-year track agreements were meant to accommodate fixed charter payouts from the 2016 deal.

Scott Prime, another NASCAR executive who took the stand on Thursday, suggested that road courses are still a viable option for rival series. However, O'Donnell himself has reported a $55 million loss over three years on the Chicago Street Course race, while the Mexico City race incurred a $6 million loss.

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Steve O'Donnell provides explanation for removal of NASCAR's three strikes rule

NASCAR's three-strikes rule allowed teams to get out of a decision if it was vetoed three times. However, Jim France wanted to get rid of the exception, which concentrated more power within the sanctioning body.

When asked about the same, Steve O'Donnell had this to say(via X/Matt Weaver),

"We wouldn't have gone to the Chicago Street Race or Mexico City if the teams still had a three-strike Rule."

O'Donnell claims that both those races were crucial in securing Amazon's involvement in the media rights deal. He further shared that the teams would've rallied against the two races using the three-strike rule.

Notably, Denny Hamlin's testimony revealed his concerns with racing overseas, as the travel alone imposed undue financial pressure on the team's bottom line. He also shared that the charter payout of $12.5 million per year falls short of the $20 million needed to run a team.

It was also revealed that 23Xi Racing pays Joe Gibbs Racing $8 million per year for their technical alliance.