23XI Racing and Frint Row Motorsports secured a favourable settlement after suing the stock car racing series, alleging monopoly. One of the key public beefs that happened during the lawsuit was the Larry McReynolds and Denny Hamlin.

The former crew chief turned broadcaster, attacked the 23XI Racing co-owner using his platform for the decision and in response the JGR hard bold responses via social media. In a latest interview with Motorsport.com, McReynolds talked about his current relationship with Hamlin, as the whole controversy is settled now. He asserted that they are back to being how the viewed each other before things went south with the court proceedings.

Yeah, we are, but I still wouldn't expect you to walk into a restaurant and see us having dinner together. We don't have that kind of relationship and I'm not sure we did before this anyway. I still say the lawsuit was not a good look. I feel like it was taking away from what we should have been talking about.

One reason, Larry McReynolds supposedly hated about the lawsuit drama was the fact that it took over all the media attention in the off-season and didn't give space for the community to discusses the many changes coming to the sport. But at the same time, he understands Michael Jordan's team helped the sport to get to a better spot with the litigation.

The trial last December prevented us from talking about Connor Zilisch's rookie season or the new Chevrolet body, everything related to the 2026 season. We spent every day talking about the trial. But with that said, and I don't want to come across as back pedaling or like I'm talking out of both sides of my mouth, but I do feel like the sport came out of it strong as a result. I feel like we are in a better place.

One big fear McReynolds had about the Denny Hamlin backed lawsuit was the fact that the jurors, who might not have a serious idea about the sport, would force an unwanted change to the sport if the trail was completed. That's why he was happy to see the settlement happening as it made the sport stronger than ever for everyone involved.

I did question it the whole time, feeling like it wasn't a good look for the sport, but now that it's over and settled with, I am so thankful that they settled and didn't take it to the jury. My fear was that 12 jurors knew so little about NASCAR and they were going to be responsible for shaping the entire future of our sport. That was a little bit scary to me. But the good news is that they settled it out of court and I really do feel like the sport is in a stronger place.

In the same interview, the former crew chief talked about the current status and the future of the sport. He highlighted how one thing that he likes a lot about the current NASCAR system is the schedule being changes every year, with the addition or removal of certain tracks. It gives more talking points and helps to avoid the stagnation that was consuming the sport.

My favorite thing about NASCAR right now is the schedule changes every year. Fans used to ask me about the schedule 15 years ago and I would tell them take a copy of that year's schedule and run it through the copier and that is more than likely what you were going to get the next year. I think our sport was getting a little stagnant.

The comments made from the veteran broadcaster are on point and the excitement about new tracks coming into schedule has been something unique to follow. But it won't be enough to keep the fans on the hook for a long-time, hence NASCAR needs to explore more opportunities. It would be interesting to see how the sport going to change in the coming years.

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