“This could turn into LIV if we don’t play our cards right”: Steve Phelps warns NASCAR could potentially have a big rival

Amid NASCAR's ongoing lawsuit, several documents and texts were unsealed on Friday, including President Steve Phelps' conversation regarding the SRX Series. During the conversation, the governing body president and COO Steve O'Donnell talked about SRX becoming a potential rival to the stock car racing series.

SRX (Superstar Racing Experience) was formed in 2020 by former Cup Series driver Tony Stewart, Ray Evernham, Sandy Montag, and George Pyne. NASCAR saw this series as a threat to its brand value and TV ratings. The series then moved to Thursday nights, making it easier for the stock car racing drivers to compete. One week, it outperformed the Xfinity and Truck Series ratings.

Several Cup Series drivers, including Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney, made guest appearances in the SRX Series. However, Steve Phelps was not in favor of the decision and told O'Donnell that he "needs to put a knife in this trash series."

Phelps claimed that SRX was benefiting from stock car racing's drivers and fan interest. He compared the situation to the LIV Golf incident, which disrupted the PGA Tour. Following that, he stated (via Motorsports.com):

"That’s the key; we need to have everyone understand that this could turn into LIV if we don’t play our cards right. We are smarter than they are, but part of the issue is they don’t have the facts and don’t seem to want to take the time to learn, or maybe they just don’t care."

"It’s all about the money and feeling like they have been heard and are respected. The SRX thing is just baffling to me. Why don’t they get it? Oh, they do get it, and it’s a huge FU to us," Steve Phelps added.

To avoid such a situation from happening, NASCAR returned to tracks like North Wilkesboro in 2023 and then to the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. Ultimately, the SRX Series folded just after two years in 2023. Later, the cars and equipment were sold to GMS Race Cars in 2025.

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"We are trying our hardest": Steve Phelps got candid about settling the ongoing antitrust lawsuit against 23XI Racing

In November 2025, NASCAR president Steve Phelps was featured in an interview with AP News ahead of the Championship 4 race. During the interaction, he talked about the stock car racing association trying its "hardest" to settle the lawsuit.

The situation arose when 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports refused to sign the charter agreement in October 2024. Following that, the Cup Series teams filed an antitrust lawsuit against the governing body, accusing CEO Jim France of creating a monopoly in the sport. Since then, both parties have been in and out of the court on several occasions.

Reflecting on that, Steve Phelps told AP News that the sanctioning body is trying to settle the lawsuit before it heads for trial on December 1, 2025. He further told the press:

“We are trying our hardest. I am trying my hardest both as a fan as well as the commissioner of this sport that I’ve loved since I was 5 years old. While two out of the 15 teams may not share that view and seem set on an unfortunate court battle, I hope that we can all agree that our racing is as good as it has ever been and we care about how we serve our fans, especially as we look forward to capping off our season by celebrating new champions across all of our national series.”

Following the lawsuit, Steve Phelps and NASCAR had to make the new charter agreement public. Additionally, the agreement has been changed for the first time since its introduction in 2016.