NASCAR Commissioner Steve Phelps resigned from his NASCAR position following a 20-year career.

During his time with the league, he helped guide the sport into the new media age, as well as through the COVID pandemic. His time ended with a contentious lawsuit that exposed his texts critical of NASCAR drivers, team owners and his own bosses.

Phelps’ personal texts became public during the antitrust lawsuit brought by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports against NASCAR. The lawsuit culminated with a settlement following eight days of trial testimony.

NASCAR announced Phelps’ departure Tuesday morning, indicating it was his decision and that he will leave his role at the end of January. He had just started the role as commissioner last year, a role that allowed him to focus on big-picture projects and the trajectory of the sport, while Steve O’Donnell handled day-to-day operations as president.

O’Donnell remains president and no other leadership changes were announced.

“As a lifelong race fan, it gives me immense pride to have served as NASCAR’s first Commissioner and to lead our great sport through so many incredible challenges, opportunities and firsts over my 20 years,” Phelps, who served as NASCAR president from 2018-25, said in a statement. “Our sport is built on the passion of our fans, the dedication of our teams and partners and the commitment of our wonderful employees.

“It has been an honor to help synthesize the enthusiasm of long-standing NASCAR stakeholders with that of new entrants to our ecosystem, such as media partners, auto manufacturers, track operators, and incredible racing talent.”

NASCAR Chairman Jim France praised Phelps’ contributions to the sport. 

Phelps helped lead NASCAR’s marketing efforts over the last two decades and led NASCAR as it negotiated its current 2025-31 media rights deal. He also led the sport as it was one of the first sports to return to action during the COVID pandemic, with it completing a full 38-race season.

“Steve will forever be remembered as one of NASCAR’s most impactful leaders,” France said. “For decades he has worked tirelessly to thrill fans, support teams and execute a vision for the sport that has treated us all to some of the greatest moments in our nearly 80-year history. 

“It’s been an honor to work alongside him in achieving the impossible, like being the first sport to return during COVID, or in delivering the unimaginable by launching new races in the L.A. Memorial Coliseum and NASCAR’s first-ever street race in downtown Chicago. Steve leaves NASCAR with a transformative legacy of innovation and collaboration with an unrelenting growth mindset.”

France had stood by Phelps despite texts that emerged during the antitrust litigation. 

Phelps expressed his frustration that one of France’s proposals for the new charter agreement was “insanity,” as Phelps tried to push for at least some of the teams’ biggest priorities during negotiations.

The texts also included Phelps’ frustration with NASCAR Cup drivers and owners competing in the SRX Series, saying: “These guys are just plain stupid. Need to put a knife in this trash series.”

But the texts that caused the biggest blowback — and likely would be difficult for him to ever overcome as far as public perception and respectability from the fanbase — were ones that Phelps wrote about revered team owner Richard Childress after Childress did an interview on SiriusXM where he questioned who would benefit from a possible media rights deal.

“Childress needs to be taken out back and flogged. He’s a stupid redneck who owes his entire fortune to NASCAR,” Phelps wrote in the text.

Later in the chain, Phelps wrote: “If he’s that angry (and apparently he is) sign your charter extension and sell. He’s not smart — is a dinosaur — and a malcontent. … Total ass-clown.”

Childress has threatened legal action over the texts. 

During his testimony in court, Phelps said he was contacted about the PGA commissioner’s role and after one meeting, he took his name out of the running. Phelps was born in Vermont and grew up as a race fan. His sports industry experience includes a stint at the NFL.

Ironically, Phelps is viewed within the sport as someone who worked tirelessly to negotiate a charter agreement that would work for teams and NASCAR and avoid the litigation that ultimately consumed the final 15 months of his tenure.

“As I embark on new pursuits in sports and other industries, I want to thank the many colleagues, friends, and especially the fans that have played such an important and motivational role in my career,” Phelps said. “Words cannot fully convey the deep appreciation I have for this life-changing experience, for the trust of the France family, and for having a place in NASCAR’s amazing history.”

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.

Yamaha Motor Corp., USA (YMUS) has promoted longtime executive Dean Burnett to senior vice president and president of its Motorsports division, effective in early 2026. The move comes as current Motorsports President Mike Martinez prepares to retire after more than three decades with the company.

Martinez, who has served as SVP and president of Motorsports since 2022, will remain with Yamaha through the first quarter of 2026 to support the transition before officially retiring on April 3, 2026.

“Yamaha owes Mike Martinez a huge debt of gratitude for his decades of service, spearheading groundbreaking products, dealer programs, and initiatives that directly led to Yamaha’s success in the U.S. powersports industry. I’m confident that Mike’s legacy is in great hands with Dean Burnett.” — Michael Chrzanowski, president and CEO of Yamaha Motor Corp., USA.

Burnett brings more than 30 years of Yamaha experience

Burnett brings more than three decades of experience across Yamaha’s global organization. Most recently, he served as vice president of Yamaha’s Marine Innovation Center and as president of Siren Marine, Skeeter Boats, and G3 Boats. His background spans sales, marketing, service, operations, manufacturing, and finance.

Born into his family’s marine dealership in Louisville, Kentucky, Burnett joined Yamaha in 1987 and has held numerous leadership roles. He previously served as president and managing director of Yamaha Motor Canada, Ltd., and Yamaha Motor Finance Canada, as well as president of Yamaha’s WaterCraft Business Group.

“I’m proud and excited to accept this new opportunity,” Burnett shares. “The Yamaha Motorsports team values, supports, and celebrates our dealer partners and business relationships. At its core, Yamaha creates lifelong memories, and we’ll continue to deliver on that promise to our dealers and customers.”

Martinez leaves lasting legacy

Martinez joined Yamaha in 1994 as a motorcycle and ATV product planner and went on to shape some of the brand’s most influential powersports products. During his career, he led the development and launch of models including Yamaha’s first automatic 4×4 ATV, the Kodiak 450, as well as the Raptor and Grizzly ATVs and the Rhino side-by-side — a vehicle widely credited with creating the modern recreational SxS segment.

He also oversaw Yamaha’s organizational alignment of its motorcycle, RV, and parts and accessories operations, and led the company’s 2018 corporate relocation to Georgia.

Under Martinez’s leadership, Yamaha reinforced its commitment to U.S. manufacturing and expanded the Yamaha Outdoor Access Initiative, which has contributed more than $8 million in grants supporting public land access for motorized recreation over the past 18 years.

Yamaha also reignited its racing presence during Martinez’s tenure, partnering with Star Racing to manage its 450 Supercross and Motocross programs. Over the past seven years, Yamaha riders have captured 26 premier-class championships across Supercross, Motocross, SuperMotocross, and road racing, along with 34 national ATV and side-by-side titles.

“I have full confidence that Dean will be a strong leader and a great partner to Yamaha dealers,” Martinez says. “I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished and excited to watch Yamaha’s continued success in the years ahead.”

What it means for dealers

Yamaha said Burnett and Martinez will work closely over the coming months to align strategy and operations, with a continued focus on supporting Yamaha’s nationwide dealer network as the Motorsports division moves into its next chapter.

The transition signals continuity for Yamaha dealers, with leadership remaining firmly rooted in Yamaha’s long-term experience and a dealer-centric strategy.

Brenden Queen will have Cummins as the sponsor of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series effort with Kaulig Racing for the full 2026 season, Kaulig announced Jan. 6.

Cummins will sponsor Queen’s No. 12 in all races during the driver’s rookie campaign.

“To have a company with Cummins’ history and worldwide reputation support me is incredible,” Queen said in a team release. “I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of this Ram 1500 and represent Cummins and Kaulig Racing every weekend. This is the type of opportunity every driver dreams about.”

“We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Cummins to the Kaulig Racing family,” Kaulig CEO Chris Rice added. “Their engineering excellence and commitment to innovation are a perfect match for our vision. Brenden is an exceptional talent, and we’re building a program around him that we believe can compete for wins and make a playoff run right away.”

Queen is the defending ARCA Menards Series champion and was the first driver announced to Kaulig’s newly formed Truck team as part of RAM’s move into the sport.

He’s made five Truck starts since 2023, earning one top five and two top 10s.

A Harrison man has been arrested for selling two high end cars he used as collateral for a $171,000 loan. Facing three felony charges for the crimes is 29-year-old James Garrett Hoffman of Harrison. Hoffman owned Hoffman Motorsports which closed. He then opened a business called Hoffman Truckparts.According to the probable cause affidavit from the Harrison Police Department, an official from a local bank came to police with two sets of promissory notes and security agreements.

Hoffman Motorsports LLC had taken out a loan for $171,000 that was due in November of 2024. Hoffman used a 2015 Lamborghini and a 2015 Mercedes Benz as collateral.

In March of 2025, Hoffman Truck Parts LLC was given a loan for $171,000, using the same vehicles as collateral, to pay off the first loan. The loan was due Sept. 26 of 2025. The bank official said no payments had been made.

Investigators were provided Carfax reports from the bank official which showed the cars used as collateral were registered out of state.

The Carfax report listed the Lamborghini for sale in August of 2024. Investigators called the company which had it listed and they reported they had bought it from Hoffman the same month, saying they had purchased several vehicles from Hoffman Motorsports and they provided Hoffman’s cell phone number.

The Carfax report indicated the Mercedes last known location was in Iowa. Dispatch ran the vehicle identification number and they found the owner. When contacted, the owner of the car provided a copy of a cashier’s check made out to Hoffman and a bill of sale dated in June of 2025.

Hoffman is facing two counts of defrauding a secured creditor and one count of theft of property. He is free after posting $10,000 bond.

PREVIOUS ARREST

Hoffman was arrested in September on a felony hot check charge.

The check, in the amount of $2,350, was written in February of last year from the account of Hoffman Motorsports.

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The 2026 season marks Kaulig Racing’s first time competing as a Ram-affiliated organization, and its first time in the Craftsman Truck Series. The team will have a new full-season sponsor for this historic season.

According to a press release, Cummins Inc. has jumped on board to support one of the five Kaulig Racing trucks. The engineering company will support Brenden “Butterbean” Queen as he competes full-time in the No. 12 Ram 1500.

Butterbean’s No. 12 will feature a custom black and red livery for every race this season. It will feature massive Cummins logos on the hood and sides, as well as the new stylized Ram logo.

“To have a company with Cummins’ history and worldwide reputation support me is incredible,” Queen said in a press release. “I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of this Ram 1500 and represent Cummins and Kaulig Racing every weekend. This is the type of opportunity every driver dreams about.”

Cummins and Dodge have long been tied together, dating back to 1989 with the release of the first Cummins-powered Ram. This partnership has continued ever since as numerous consumers have purchased trucks with Cummins power.

In fact, Cummins announced in July 2025 an extension of this partnership through 2030, which included the next generation 6.7L Turbo Diesel Pickup engine system. These engines will power all Ram heavy duty pickups, including the 2500 and 3500 Heavy Duty Pickups. The engines will also power the 3500, 4500, and 5500 Chassis Cab trucks.

Now, Cummins will also take on NASCAR while supporting last season’s ARCA Menards Series champion. The brand will make its debut during the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway on Friday, Feb. 13. Queen will continue to run the black and red scheme in every race as he pursues both Rookie of the Year honors and a championship.

“We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Cummins to the Kaulig Racing family,” said Chris Rice, Chief Executive Officer of Kaulig Racing.

“Their engineering excellence and commitment to innovation are a perfect match for our vision. Brenden is an exceptional talent, and we’re building a program around him that we believe can compete for wins and make a playoff run right away.”

 

In a bit of a full-circle moment, Bruce Ridley once again has two sportsman cars to maintain.

Both of his sons, Kyle, 15 and Parker, 10, will be wheeling Sportsman division mounts at Land of Legends Raceway. Kyle will move to the adult Sportsman division while Parker is moving to the New Legends Division.

“It’s deja vu,” laughed Bruce, who helped maintain sportsman cars for Eric Giguere and Dan Weisner in tandem, and Greg Cool’s rides at intervals through 2015, and then part-time through 2020. “It’s back to normal: I am exhausted.”

Bruce was almost bubbling with excitement talking about the new endeavor, jokes about the off-season preparations aside. Parker and Kyle are equally excited, which each coming off successful 2025 campaigns. Sabrina Ridley is maybe more excited than anyone, sharing sentiments of pride and relief.

“I am excited to watch both the boys race, and together, and eventually against each other,” she said. “It’s fun to watch them, but now we are at one race track, not separate ones. It will be a fun season.”

Sabrina herself raced, steering flat track motorcycles at Paradise. She said she will enjoy seeing Kyle race against so many longtime friends and familiar faces. Bruce said he is also looking forward to the added connection with the racing community.

“When you are there every week, you’re more networked and connected; the community feels tighter when you are there,” said Bruce. “You’re never totally out of it; you miss the people, the racing family. It reconnects you to everybody again.”

Parker is looking forward to getting on the dirt, and has a mostly 2019 Bicknell for the season. There were parts of Kyle’s car passed down, with various lap counts. Kyle also has an enclosed trailer to move his machine.

“I am excited to have more experience on dirt, and learn what others are learning,” said Parker, who earned the moniker, ‘The Mayor’ because of his outgoing personality.

He scored a handful of wins in the Summer Series at the Sodus Microd Club; most of the microd gear was sold off to fund the racing program. Rick Knapp is returning to racing microds with Tripp Knapp, so the transition worked to help two teams toward 2026 success.

“And a bunch of my friends from Sodus are coming, too,” explained Parker, noting Ben Wagner and Liam Ridgeway are moving to the New Legends Sportsman ranks.

“Its going to be crazy at New Legends,” added Bruce, noting as many as five new entries could be in the division with graduating microd drivers. “It’s going to be a youth rules kind of year there. I think Paul is going to be get a big shock how big that class can be next year from the sounds of it.”

The preparations for Parker’s car have mostly focused around getting the seat high enough, and raising the floor.

“New Legends and novice teaches you about holding your line. You can experiment with the car, see what you like,” explained Kyle, referring to what can and cannot be passed down between the brothers in terms of the elder coaching the younger sibling. “Everyone has their own driving style. You can talk fundamentals, basics… You can pass on a lot of information, but some of it you just have to learn.”

Kyle will be in the learning seat again with a fresh start in the adult division. Kyle is fresh off a season with starts at Land of Legends Raceway, Brewerton Speedway and Fulton. The season included a big win at Brewerton, and a few trips to victory lane at Land of Legends. He kept a promise by entering — and competing — in the Sportsman portion of the Gerald Haers Memorial race this past fall.

“I am a little more nervous for Kyle. He is going into sportsman, but he went out there (in the GHM) and surprised all of us and did really well,” Sabrina said.

“Going up, you need to be aware of holding your line more. If others are faster, let them go,” said Kyle, repeating again the intentional respect that Bruce and Sabrina have been coaching since his own time in microds. “You learn how to go about stuff; when you can take chances when you can or can’t.”

Kyle, who will turn 16 in March, has been soaking up information about shock packages and setups. Kyle is also looking at more of the logistics with two cars in the shop.

“A lot more shop time with two cars, a lot more maintenance, getting the cars to the track will be a big step in expansion,” he said.

Being on coil suspensions versus torsion bars has helped a bit in curbing the maintenance time, in that the car does not have to be scaled each week.

“Back in the day, a bar car had to be scaled every week. There was no getting around it. Some old school might still scale every week, for what we do, its been a good thing for us,” Bruce said, revealing he as much a student as the boys are, given he is still learning the nuances of coil suspensions.

Kyle would like to hang around the top 10 this season. There are no shoot-for-the-moon aspirations of wins and track championships in the first year, and he will instead focus on being a good student.

“This is a big learning year. It’s all about learning and teaching yourself mentally and physically; it’s about learning more, meeting new people and the right way to do things,” Kyle said, adding with his driver’s license, he will be able to explore new tracks on his own.

Above all, the overall 2026 goals are to be respectful, and bring the car home in one piece.

“Honestly, the respect I want my boys to have for everybody else, it has got to be there. It’s one of my must-haves,” said Bruce. “They have their moments where I need to get them inline, but they are young and need to be taught.

“[Success] is not a gimmie,” he continued, explaining too often, teams look to set the world on fire in the first year, and miss out on the learning and the fun of racing. “Kyle has a little more confidence now. Parker is facing a huge learning curve. You are one wreck away from not being able to come back. I don’t want them taking chances. If someone is cutting you off let up, we don’t need the car wrecked every week.”

Bruce said uncle Kevin Ridley still keeps an eye on the boys, even with maintaining the equipment for Justin Stone up in Vermont.

“He loves watching the boys and being a part of it. He likes to watch on LOLRtv if he is not right there,” said Bruce, sharing that he gets calls after the heats with setup changes from Kevin, or instructions on what groove is going to be the most effective. “He will call and tell about adjustments to make to the car. Or, he will tell Kyle get on the bottom and don’t come off it. Kevin is still a big part of this.”

Bruce will be looking for as many test sessions as possible early in the spring to help Parker acclimate to the full-size car. Then, the team is full speed ahead for the weekly races at Land of Legends Raceway.

The team is active on social media, sharing videos of their cars on the Ridley Bros. Racing feeds. The boys welcome support from partners Project Lean Nation, Frattos Curbing, Howie’s Auto, Wayne’s Spas Service, MNB Auto, C&C Auto, Heritage Outdoor and Safety Awareness Solutions. The team will host their annual ‘Almost Famous’ racing party, barbecue and fundraiser February 28 at Phelps Fire Hall.

DTD TV showdown

Purse structures have been released ahead of the inaugural DTD TV Showdown at All-Tech Raceway.

Action is booked from February 4-7, featuring the Big Block Modifieds and Sportsman racing under DIRTcar rules on Hoosier tires.

After testing on Wednesday, teams will race Thursday through Saturday. Modifieds will battle through 40-lap features each night, paying $5,000 to win and $400 to start. Sportsman teams will race in 25-lap features, paying $2,000 and $200 to start.

This is the first racing action for Sportsman racers at All-Tech Raceway. The Modifieds are racing under the same rules used the following week at the DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park.

Hot laps begin each night at 6:30pm with racing following at 7 pm. Pit passes are $45 per night. Grandstands are just $10 on Thursday and Friday. Grandstand admission on Saturday is $15. For more, visit DTDShowdown.com

Kane wins Chill Factor Enduro at Fonda

The 75th anniversary season for Fonda Speedway opened earlier than any prior season, kicking off with Thursday’s ‘Chill Factor’ Enduro.

Josh Kane won the 50-lap feature. He was awarded $500 for his work. There were 42 cars in the field, and Kane started 22nd. Kane also drives in Fonda’s Sportsman division. He previously won the 50-lap Enduro event during the Montgomery County Open last September, giving him two straight victories.

Cold temperatures and an ice-covered racing surface marked the earliest opener in the track’s history, and a strong crowd was on hand to enjoy the 2026 opener.

Chris Marquart’s “Motorsports” appears every other Wednesday during racing’s offseason. Contact Chris at 315-729-3999 or smashedempirefilms@gmail.com.