The antitrust lawsuit between 23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports, and NASCAR is over, and while the trial ended in a settlement last week, it was rather clear-cut that the teams held a significant advantage in the courtroom through the nine days of what became known as “NASCOURT”.
Now that the trial has concluded, Denny Hamlin has been given the green light to freely post at will on social media, and on Tuesday morning, the 60-time NASCAR Cup Series race-winning driver was in no mood to hide his feelings about how the legal situation was covered by Larry McReynolds and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio after 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports filed the lawsuit against NASCAR in 2024.
Heading into Tuesday morning’s edition of “On Track”, Larry McReynolds took to his personal X account to say good morning to his followers and to let them know what was coming on the show throughout the day. Little did McReynolds know that this social media post would be the catalyst for the biggest moment on social media revolving around NASCAR throughout the day.
“Good Morning! At 11am/ET this morning join @BradGillie & LarryMac28 for “On Track” on @SiriusXMNASCAR Channel 90,” McReynolds posted. “Dylan Cappello with @Team_FRM joins us PLUS, we’re playing a game called Higher or Lower! #NASCAR”
Good Morning! At 11am/ET this morning Join @BradGillie & @LarryMac28 for “On Track” on @SiriusXMNASCAR Channel 90! Dylan Cappello with @Team_FRM joins us PLUS, we’re playing a game called Higher or Lower! #NASCAR
— Larry McReynolds (@LarryMac28) December 16, 2025
At 8:11 AM ET, Hamlin fired back with a couple of tweets calling into question how SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and McReynolds, specifically, handled the coverage of the antitrust lawsuit.
“Good morning,” Hamlin replied to McReynolds. “Now that the case is settled and the evidence is out will you or anyone on channel 90 be issuing an apology for what you all said about 23XI/FRM when the lawsuit was filed?”
Good morning. Now that the case is settled and the evidence is out will you or anyone on channel 90 be issuing an apology for what you all said about 23XI/FRM when the lawsuit was filed?
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) December 16, 2025
Hamlin then busted out the receipts in another response, “I believe it was ‘how dare them for trying to come in and change the sport. 23XI hasn’t been around long enough and FRM wasn’t good enough’. Also how about ‘I don’t know what their problem is, 13 other teams signed it’. Just to name a few examples.”
I believe it was “how dare them for trying to come in and change the sport. 23XI hasn’t been around long enough and FRM wasn’t good enough”. Also how about “ I dont know what their problem is, 13 other teams signed it”. Just to name a few examples.
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) December 16, 2025
Bust out the Friday “DAAAAMN!” meme, because Hamlin was ready to pounce.
Later, Brad Gillie, McReynolds’ co-host, quote-posted Hamlin’s original response to McReynolds and said, “I realize you’re responding to Larry, but shouldn’t we let the animosity end? I would love to see us all positively move the sport forward with unity and grace.”
Hamlin would respond with one sentence to Gillie.
“Animosity ends with accountability,” Hamlin said.
Animosity ends with accountability.
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) December 16, 2025
Hamlin received a fair share of fans agreeing with his response, as well as others who were not on board with him publicly berating McReynolds and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio for their opinion heading into the trial. However, when X user @BillEarly asked Hamlin why an apology was required, Hamlin said that reality didn’t line up at all with the narrative that was allegedly being peddled by the SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
“Well because I believe that once the actual facts and documents were released it was contradictory to the narrative that was being pushed,” Hamlin stated. “Larry is a very hard working analyst. Hopefully he took the time to analyze the situation post settlement and revise his thoughts.”
Well because I believe that once the actual facts and documents were released it was contradictory to the narrative that was being pushed. Larry is a very hard working analyst. Hopefully he took the time to analyze the situation post settlement and revise his thoughts.
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) December 16, 2025
While the full financial terms of the settlement will likely never be fully known, NASCAR reportedly chose to meet a lot of demands by the teams in an effort to settle the lawsuit after nine days of battling in Federal Court in Charlotte, NC.
Among the things that were awarded to the teams were “Evergreen” Charters, which are essentially permanent Charters provided teams don’t violate the terms of the Charter Agreement. If teams are found in violation of the Charter Agreement, they will be given time to sell their Charters rather than having them taken from them.
Additionally, 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports had their Charters, which expired when they didn’t sign the 2025 Charter Agreement, restored.
While the antitrust lawsuit is without a doubt the big sticking point in Hamlin’s clapbacks to McReynolds on Tuesday, there has been more bad blood between the two over the last year. On SiriusXM NASCAR Radio earlier this year, McReynolds claimed that Hamlin, who was a member of NASCAR’s Playoff Committee, shouldn’t have a say in what the Playoff format is because he hadn’t won a championship.
This led to a lot of backlash on social media, as McReynolds wasn’t clear that he was speaking about Hamlin, and many assumed he meant Mark Martin, who was also on the Playoff Committee. The heat didn’t dial down when it was revealed McReynolds was talking about Hamlin, and it was seen as an interesting comment from a crew chief who never won a championship in his years on the pit box.
Perhaps McReynolds can issue an apology to Hamlin, and the two can begin to see eye-to-eye and repair their relationship, which has been publicly strained over the last year.
