In a fiery interview discussing NASCAR’s antitrust lawsuit, team owner Richard Childress responded to leaked text messages from former CEO Steve Phelps, labeling him a “stupid redneck” and an “idiot.”
The 79-year-old NASCAR Hall of Famer, whose Richard Childress Racing team fields cars for drivers like Austin Dillon, expressed deep personal hurt but channeled it into a defense of the sport’s blue-collar heritage.
Childress, speaking candidly about the insults in a sit-down with Fox8 Sports’ Kevin Connolly and Danny Harnden, described the “redneck” moniker not as a slur but as a point of pride.
“One guy calls me a redneck. That’s a badge of honor, and I’ve got a lot of race fans that are good, solid rednecks,” he said.
Childress went on to admit to self-censoring to avoid potential fines, revealing that he spent hours rehearsing responses.
“As far as the personal damages that came to me, if I tell you what I think now, you’d probably be bleeping me out,” he confessed.
NASCAR Icon Richard Childress Flips the Script on a Leaked ‘Redneck’ Insult, Calling it a Badge of Honor
The phrase “personal damages” suggests Childress is already considering a defamation suit against NASCAR and/or Phelps. The commissioner at the time was exposed when he called one of the sport’s legendary figures a “redneck.”
During legal proceedings regarding an antitrust lawsuit filed by Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing team and Front Row Motorsports, inflammatory text messages from Phelps were revealed, including one where he referred to Childress as a “stupid redneck” who “needs to be taken out back and flogged.”
You might as well just be calling all your older fans that, Chief. As Childress said, there are millions of NASCAR fans who are okay with being a redneck. It’s not derogatory, as Phelps clearly viewed it.
Phelps announced his resignation earlier this month.
Further suggesting Childress will take some sort of action, he issues this warning: “The personal attacks against me, I’m like an ‘old elephant’. You don’t forget.”
Things are going to get worse between him and NASCAR before they get better; that seems to be a definite.
There's a lot here in this August 30 2023 text thread with Steve Phelps, Steve O'Donnell and Brian Herbst
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) November 22, 2025
There's not great conviction in their broadcast chances in 2030/31 unless the sport is in a better place
They were really frustrated with Richard Childress at the time pic.twitter.com/a8lR7VxCsW
READ MORE: Veteran Ken Schrader Defends NASCAR’s ‘Redneck’ Rebrand: ‘I Like It’
Childress initially struck a conciliatory tone toward the France family, the founding and ownership family of NASCAR, emphasizing his desire to help continue to promote the sport.
“You know, I’ve spoken to the France family, and my goal now is to try to help them and help everyone come together and build a stronger NASCAR sport,” he said during the interview.
Childress, the current owner of Richard Childress Racing (RCR), is a NASCAR icon who has been involved in the sport since the 1960s. He won six Cup Series championships with the late Dale Earnhardt Sr.