From Start to Finish, The Entire Lawsuit Saga Between Jimmie Johnson’s Legacy Motor Club vs Rick Ware Racing
What’s Happening? NASCAR Hall of Famer and Seven-Time Champion Jimmie Johnson’s Legacy Motor Club is suing Rick Ware Racing over a…
As the 2026 season rolls on, several things are changing in the NASCAR garage, one of which is RFK Racing, as its leased charter changes hands during the offseason. Given recent comments from Brad Keselowski, this situation was the talk of the town this past week, but what does it mean for the team going forward?
After two years of charter leases, RFK Racing is at the end of its line for a third charter for 2027. Since 2025, RFK used a leased third charter (two separate ones) to field its third car, the No. 60.
While the team seems optimistic about keeping their team at three full-time drivers, there is no clear answer to this problem as of press time.
This problem can be confusing, especially for those who may not fully understand the Charter system, so here’s everything you need to know about RFK Racing’s ongoing 2027 charter crisis.
If RFK is without a third charter for 2027, it does not limit their ability to field a third car. Still, if you field a full-time car, most teams would prefer to have a charter, as opposed to risking it as an open entry.
At the conclusion of the 2024 season, RFK Racing announced an expansion to its existing two-car team to three, bringing its No. 60 team full-time with driver Ryan Preece.
Teams do not need a charter to compete full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, but they help teams by giving them a share of revenue and a guaranteed starting spot, creating a world where, for the past few seasons, all full-time Cup Series teams have raced with a charter.
Though the Stewart-Haas Racing firesale had already happened earlier that season, RFK missed out on getting a third charter from the former Ford team, so the team opted to lease one from Rick Ware Racing.
The charter RFK leased was Charter 27, owned by RWR since 2019, and used for the team’s No. 15 entry in 2024. Per NASCAR rules, teams can only lease a charter for one year, so, for year two of their expansion, RFK agreed to lease Charter 36.
Charter 36 is the one the No. 60 team currently uses and the one that was used by Cody Ware’s No. 51 team in 2026.
At the time of the initial agreement, many fans theorized that RFK could be a buyer for one of RWR’s two charters by the end of their lease agreement, though this never came to be.
Unfortunately, RWR, following a short legal battle, agreed to sell this charter to Legacy Motor Club.
This, combined with RWR’s commitment to racing long-term (despite rumors they could sell both charters during the 2025 season), has left RFK in a tough spot as the 2027 season looms in the distance.
What’s Happening? NASCAR Hall of Famer and Seven-Time Champion Jimmie Johnson’s Legacy Motor Club is suing Rick Ware Racing over a…
Buying
RFK has a few options if they want to keep their three-car stable. The first and perhaps most obvious option is to buy one, unfortunately, as Keselowski told SiriusXM NASCAR radio last week, that’s not likely.
“There are no charters that I’m aware of that are for sale. If there was, we’ve certainly talked to everybody that we think could potentially sell one, and they know our interest.” — Brad Keselowski on SiriusXM
There are currently 36 total charters, and, unlike the recent season, there is no litigation or rumors telling fans that a charter is for sale or has sold.
Even then, the cost of a Charter is skyrocketing. The original agreed sale price of a charter between RWR and Legacy in 2025, at least before the lawsuit and settlement, was $45 million.
That was a massive jump from the prior most recent known figure of the mid-$20 million range that the Stewart-Haas Racing charters sold for.
Ever since that sale, prices are rumored to be up again, perhaps even double, with the lawsuit settlement between charter owning teams 23XI Racing/Front Row Motorsports and NASCAR ensuring evergreen (basically permanent) charters.
Leasing
Another option could be to lease one, but unfortunately, Keselowski or any RFK officials have not mentioned that as an option in their limited comments on the matter.
Even then, if a team wanted to lease a charter, that would put that team down a car for 2027, something that seems unlikely, as of right now, though the rumored busy 2027 silly season ahead could factor into that.
What’s Happening? NASCAR Silly Season is in full swing, with drivers on contract seasons already signing and re-signing with teams for…
Open Cars
The final option is an open car, something high risk and somewhat low reward, as the team would not have the security that came with a charter entry.
Still, for some time now, fans have asked the question of whether or not a winning organization like RFK would be fine fielding an open car from a competition standpoint.
Races rarely fill to the 40-car limit, but those that do are often at chaotic tracks like Daytona or Talladega, the former of which RFK took an open car to this year and failed to qualify that car.
What’s Happening? One of the best parts of any NASCAR season is the part-time, un-chartered, or “open” cars that make starts…
Given Chris Buescher’s status as the tenure driver at RFK, and Brad Keselowski’s status as, well, the “K” in RFK, most fans fear that Ryan Preece, who has finally found a home in the Cup Series, could be the man out if the team were forced to cut down to three cars.
During media availability last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, Preece said that he wants to be at RFK, and, from his perspective, team leadership wants to get that third charter.
But, the idea of cutting back down to two cars is somewhat of a worst-case scenario, as Keselowski told Matt Weaver of Motorsport.com last week, “There’s always a path.”
Still, at the end of the day, the team has till February to figure it out, and a lot can change in that time in the garage area.
Let us know your thoughts on this! Join the discussion on Discord or X, and remember to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for more updates.
