NASCAR leadership execs were worried about PGA, LIV-esque split

Steve O'Donnell. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Text messages between NASCAR leadership revealed execs were worried about PGA, LIV-esque split

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Oct 15, 2025 11:53 PM ET

Bombshell text messages were revealed on Wednesday by 23XI Racing/Front Row Motorsports in a court filing in the teams' antitrust case against NASCAR.

The messages, which were sent in June 2022, per Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports, are between NASCAR president Steve O'Donnell and executive vice president Ben Kennedy.

Texts reveal NASCAR leadership was scared of potential golf-esque split

O'Donnell appeared to be worried about NASCAR facing a split similar to what the PGA Tour and LIV Golf went through in 2022 — especially in light of the antitrust lawsuit that was brought forth in October 2024, which was floated around as a fringe possibility in 2024.

"I just watched (Jay) Monahan's press conference," O'Donnell said in his message to Kennedy. "I don't ever want to see you in that position. We need to lock ourselves in a room and war-game this thing. Future of the sport is on the line and we need to assume — unfortunately — that 30 of 36 drivers will leave us and all owners will leave us."

23XI/FRM filed a response tonight to the NASCAR summary judgment, and while it largely rehashes the arguments you’ve already heard, there are a couple new exhibits that aren’t sealed (at least I think they’re new). One is a text from Steve O’Donnell to Ben Kennedy after O’Donnell… pic.twitter.com/rQb0KU23Dv
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) October 16, 2025

O'Donnell went on to say that the PGA looked 'dumb' during the split.

"Bottom line — my eyes were opened with the PGA and teams," O'Donnell said in the message. "There is zero loyalty. We need to assume that nobody gives a s*** — they don't."

"O'Donnell also said that Curtis Polk, a co-owner of 23XI Racing with Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan, thinks that "we (NASCAR) are dumb hillbillies... I want to win and I know you do as well. It is personal now — we are against a guy who doesn't care one bit about this sport."

Included in the 23XI/FRM filing is a text from Steve O’Donnell and Ben Kennedy response on PGA-LIV Golf and anticipating a possible similar situation that NASCAR could face (I blacked out/covered up phone numbers): https://t.co/iji7tCAXJ2 pic.twitter.com/14Gb7Uj0nR
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) October 16, 2025

Kennedy responded to O'Donnell with a far less lengthy message, saying that NASCAR should continue to think about how it could "protect" itself from a similar situation to what happened with the PGA.

A trial in the anti-trust case between 23XI/FRM and NASCAR is set for Dec. 1.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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