Legacy Motor Club Paid a Record-Breaking Price for Rick Ware Racing’s Charter
What’s Happening? On the latest episode of the Dale Jr Download, a NASCAR insider revealed that Jimmie Johnson’s Legacy Motor Club…
On Tuesday, the NASCAR industry learned via the Dale Jr. Download that Legacy Motor Club’s purchase of a Rick Ware Racing charter was record-breaking. While this was surely newsworthy, Dale Earnhardt Jr., co-host of the show, seemed to have mixed emotions about the implications of these rising charter costs.
“I’m torn in two about this,” said Dale Earnhardt Jr on his podcast, the Dale Jr Download. His co-host, Jordan Bianchi of the Athletic, had just revealed the staggering price of Rick Ware Racing’s recent charter sale to Legacy Motor Club.
Earnhardt, a NASCAR veteran and Xfinity Series team owner, went on to express how “awesome” it is that the soaring prices of charters continue to provide teams an item of value to sell should they shut down their operation.
This was a long-time issue for teams who, once they shuttered their operation, would typically commence a firesale of equipment, cars, and various other items for, as Earnhardt described it, “pennies on the dollar.” Now, with the highly valuable charters, NASCAR Cup Series teams have something worth millions to sell, or even sell part of, to make some money back.
However, as Earnhardt went on to say, the high prices of these charters are creating a “very challenging barrier of entry.” Their high prices, combined with the general cost of running a NASCAR Cup Series team, continue to price out more and more potential owners.
“It was possible for millionaires to go racing just a couple of years ago, but now it’s a billionaire that needs to be involved,” Earnhardt said. “You see it with all these teams bringing in the private equity. That’s massive money.”
What’s Happening? On the latest episode of the Dale Jr Download, a NASCAR insider revealed that Jimmie Johnson’s Legacy Motor Club…
Earnhart’s quote is not prophetic, as Bianchi followed up by stating, “That [private equity] was behind what legacy was able to do in purchasing this charter because they had that they had investment group come in.”
On Jan. 27, LMC added investment firm Knighthead Capital to the team’s ownership group. Shortly after, the team agreed to pay $45 million for Rick Ware Racing’s charter, which is now the focus of a lawsuit between the two teams. Knighthead’s money appears to have been a factor in this record-breaking purchase.
In fact, LMC paid five million dollars more for this charter than Sprie Motorsports’ previous record, set before the 2024 season. This is also a far cry from the $8 million and $10 million price tags from Spire Motorsports’ two charter sales to Kaulig Racing in late 2021.
Earnhardt and Bianchi went on to express that they feel the $45 million will be a lowball in the coming seasons. “I believe the value of the charters is, well, north of $150 million,” Earnhardt said.
What’s Happening? NASCAR Hall of Famer and Seven-Time Champion Jimmie Johnson’s Legacy Motor Club is suing Rick Ware Racing over a…
These continually rising prices have to be tough news for Earnhardt, who has publicly flirted with the idea of buying a charter. On numerous occasions, he even referred to the Spire and Kaulig transactions on the Dale Jr Download in 2021, saying, “That’s out of my range.”
His Xfinity Series team, JR Motorsports, even dipped their toe in the Cup Series water this spring at the Daytona 500, walking away with a top-ten finish in their open car. This, of course, reignited rumors of the team’s potential self-promotion.
Earnhardt, of course, still has an interest in buying a charter, stating in this episode, “If I was a billionaire, I would buy charters right now, every day that you don’t buy a charter. It’s getting more and more valuable.”
Looking back, perhaps Earnhardt is one of those individuals who could get stuck behind the “challenging barrier of entry.” With prices headed through the roof, Earnhardt may have to move sooner rather than later if he still wants to snag a charter at a decent price.
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