With the loss of their injunctions, both 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are now operating as open teams, and that leaves some major doors open. Should the pair of race teams lose their monopoly lawsuit against NASCAR, the teams would lose a combined six charters, and therefore, well over an estimated $ 100 million worth of investments would have to be rolled back.
But if this were to happen, what teams would or could jump at the opportunity to jump at one or more of these charters? NASCAR has announced its intention to issue a 37th charter for the 2026 season. They have held ownership of four charters, each reserved for a future new OEM. So could that be a hint at the future?
Image Credit: Julian Wayne/ Seriously Fast Motorsports
Future OEM Team
The future team mentioned above is a potential new OEM team. No new OEM would want to join the series with just a single car, especially for superspeedway tracks. So it’s only logical that this team would be more than interested in one or two of the “Inactive” charters.
Legacy Motor Club
Legacy is currently in a lawsuit of its own. They are battling Rick Ware Racing for the purchase of a third charter for their current two-car team. Legacy claims that they purchased a charter from Rick Ware Racing and that Rick Ware is attempting to back out of the deal in a wrongful manner. They have another agreement to sell both of their charters to TJ Puchyr as part of the overall sale of their team. Should the lawsuit not go their way, they could be one of the teams looking to grab one of the “Inactive” charters.
TJ Puchyr’s New RWR Team
As of today, Rick Ware Racing owns two charters; should they lose the lawsuit with Legacy, they would be left with one. Depending on how deep TJ wants to get into the sport, he may be forced to purchase a second charter. If they win the case, they may be seeking a third.
JR Motorsports
It’s not a secret that Dale Jr. and Kelly Miller have been looking to make the rather expensive move to the Cup Series. They even made the move to start the Daytona 500 this year, demonstrating their ability to make a significant leap forward. With a flooded market, JR Motorsports may have the chance it needs to acquire one at a reasonable cost.
Chip Ganassi Racing
When I spoke with Chip Ganassi himself at the 2023 Detroit Auto Show, I asked about his plans to return to NASCAR. He told me “never say never”. So could Chip possibly make a return? You never know.
Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing
Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing was once the only team in NASCAR to field five full-time Cup cars. Today, RFK owns just a pair of charters and leases one from RWR. I’m sure Brad and company would love to lock in a third charter for themselves.
Richard Childress Racing
RCR has had both of its charters since they were distributed in 2016. Now, today, it’s pretty obvious that the team needs to get their bearings straight if they want to return to being a contender week after week, but they also run the 33 car on occasion and have two top-notch talents waiting in Xfinity. Should Austin Dillon stay in the 3 car for the next few years and Busch remain in the 8, it could be wise to snatch up a charter for that third car to lock one of those young men in for the future.
A New Team
With mumblings of many different personalities and potential new driver owners, there is no end to the speculation that a new team or two could come up and snatch a few of these charters.
