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Recently, we took a look at teams who could be looking to buy charters for 2024. Now, let’s take a look at the opposite side. Which teams may look at selling charters for 2024? A couple of these teams on this list may even be forced to give up their charters at some point.
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Rick Ware Racing already sold one of their charters prior to the 2022 season, and they find themselves in a situation similar to what StarCom Racing found themselves in after 2021. NASCAR has a rule that if a team finishes in the bottom three of owner points amongst chartered teams for three consecutive seasons, NASCAR can revoke a charter. After doing that for two seasons in a row, StarCom sold their charter to 23XI Racing prior to the 2022 season.
Rick Ware Racing had both of their cars finish in the bottom three in 2022, and their 15 car finished in the bottom three in 2021 as well. This year, the 51 car sits in 34th in owner points, in the bottom three, with the 15 car only 34 points above that spot. Could Rick Ware Racing find themselves in a StarCom-type situation?
Would they be willing to risk the 51 charter being revoked potentially in 2024 if that car finishes in the bottom three? They are seemingly risking it with the 15 car here in 2023, so, they may. How long can this last though?
Last season, the 78 Live Fast Motorsports car finished in 36th in owners points, which was last of the full-time teams. This season, they sit in 36th place once again. They are currently 30 points behind the 33rd place charter, which is the 42 car from Legacy Motor Club.
Again, Live Fast is in a scenario that StarCom was in. Do they keep going beyond this season, or do they do what StarCom did? The upcoming TV deal is something that Live Fast will have to watch. There is not guarantee that the system will be the same beyond 2024.
If that is the case, why would they pull out now? They could potentially start getting a larger share of the TV revenue with the next deal, and they could motivate Live Fast to stay.
Stewart-Haas Racing is having a struggling season. They also do not have certainty with their drivers beyond 2023. Josh Berry is replacing Kevin Harvick, but Berry brings no sponsorship. Aric Almirola is mulling retirement, and that means Smithfield could be out at the end of the year.
If they cannot find the financial support necessary, then how can they race four cars? Especially considering the performance issues that SHR has had this season. Some may begin to question whether or not they can.
Eric Estepp has speculated that SHR’s agreement with Ford stipulates that SHR must have four cars. If that is the case, then is Ford willing to pony up the money necessary to keep that fourth operation running? At this point, that may be what needs to happen if SHR cannot sell their charter.
Those who could sell their charters are far less than those who could be potential buyers. Someone could be a surprise seller, but it’s hard to see who realistically could come out of that pack. That means that if someone wants to buy, they may be working on these teams hard.
