What’s Happening?

The NASCAR charter market is hot and heavy for the 2025 season. We seem to know the who, but, today we answer a different question. How many charters are available for race teams to grab in 2025?

• Two race teams have been primarily associated with selling charters this season. However, one could be off the market and the other could sell only one charter or multiple charters.
• There are 5 race teams reportedly looking to buy charters. Is there enough for all of them to purchase at least one charter?
• Fans are always curious about the charter situation. They love to speculate about who could buy charters and where they go.

Looking to Sell? JTG-Daugherty Racing

JTG Daugherty Racing made headlines last month thanks to an Adam Stern report that team co-owner Tad Geshickter is considering leaving the ownership group and taking team sponsor Kroger with him. Speculation ran wild about the future of the team, including whether or not they could sell a charter. However, that conversation settled down when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. signed a multi-year contract extension earlier in May, a news release where Geshickter was notably absent.

At this point, it seems almost impossible that JTG-Daugherty Racing outright sells a charter. They wouldn’t commit to Stenhouse Jr. if they didn’t have a plan for the future. The only chance they sell is if they are bought out by another team, which, doesn’t seem likely for now.

Looking to Sell: Stewart-Haas Racing

On to Stewart-Haas Racing. SHR reportedly considered selling charters as early as the first week of April. However, Matt Weaver reported this week that SHR has more up for grabs than just charters, their building and the operation itself are reportedly on the market. Bob Pockrass also suggested that SHR could consider selling shop space.

One thing is for sure, SHR is shopping their charters. They’re in their last year of a contract with Ford, and, if they are no longer a Tier One team following this year, downsizing makes a lot of sense. Team co-owners Tony Stewart and Gene Haas have other business ventures, so, selling the entire race team isn’t unrealistic either.

It’s also important to note SHR’s driver contract status. Noah Gragson signed a multi-year contract last off-season to race in 2024 and beyond, but, aside from him, every other SHR driver’s contract status is either unclear (Ryan Preece and Josh Berry), or could expire at the end of 2024 (Chase Briscoe). That makes it easy for SHR to sell potentially up to 3 charters without having to deal with driver contracts.

Adam Stern reported in early April that SHR was considering selling “one” or “Multiple” charters. Single-car teams are exceedingly rare in the Cup Series as JTG-Daugherty is the only full-time single-car team. So, it’s most likely that SHR sells 1, 2, or maybe all 4 charters.

That gives us our guesstimate of how many charters are available. Five race teams are reportedly in the market for charters (23XI, Front Row, Legacy Motor Club, Trackhouse, and JR Motorsports), so, someone will get left out no matter how many charters are sold. That is, as long as another surprise team doesn’t elect to sell charters.

It’s going to be interesting to see how this situation shakes out. Right now, there are limited charters available and plenty of teams who want them. A bidding war may come to the NASCAR garage.