Not that you had any illusion that SiriusXM NASCAR Radio was intended to be any kind of actual news channel, but anyway.
“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 wrote on his socials, aiming directly at Larry McReynolds, a host on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, an outspoken critic of the lawsuit filed by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports challenging the NASCAR charter system.
If you clicked to read this, you probably know that, officially, the parties settled, and that, unofficially, 23XI and Front Row won, and won big – NASCAR agreed to grant permanent charters to all 15 racing teams currently operating in the sport, which was a key ask from 23XI and Front Row, in addition to agreeing to pay out an unspecified amount, certainly in the tens of millions of dollars.
ICYMI
The “coverage” of the legal spat on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio came across like propaganda. McReynolds, who also serves as a TV commentator for Fox and TNT, said of the suit on-air that “23XI and Front Row are going to regret the day they ever did this,” said he was hearing the lawsuit “does not sound like it’s going in their favor” – news flash: it was never not going in the teams’ favor – and seemed appalled that anyone would dare to bring suit against the privately owned racing league.
“That France family built this from scratch, and a lot of us have made a lot of good livings doing it in this sport,” McReynolds said.
Karoline Leavitt couldn’t have said it better.
Hamlin also raised issue in a 2024 post about the move by SiriusXM NASCAR Radio to effectively censor an interview conducted with Jeffrey Kessler, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs in the suit, in which Kessler laid out their position that NASCAR was operating as a monopoly.
The interview was not included in the full episode replay later posted to the channel’s website.
“While censorship is a big topic in today’s media world, Channel 90 might be the poster child,” Hamlin noted at the time. “An interview didn’t go the way they hoped after our attorney continued to state fact after fact even though they tried their best to refute, they have since edited/deleted that interview off of their channels because the narrative doesn’t fit their beliefs. If that doesn’t convince you of the bias, then nothing will.”
The point is made: SiriusXM NASCAR Radio is that lady on North Korean TV telling you that Kim Jong Un shot 38-under with 11 holes-in-one after bowling a 300 game and dunking on LeBron James.
There’s value there, akin to the value from the announcers on a pro wrestling show selling you the kayfabe.
Just an idea, but maybe they should avoid the actual news in the future.
Video: SiriusXM NASCAR Radio needs to stay in its lane
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Chris Graham
