What’s Happening?

Now that Stewart-Haas Racing has officially announced it will shut down at the end of the season, attention is turning to what it will do with its charters. Bob Pockrass reports three of the charters have suitors, but the fourth charter remains open. Who could buy the fourth SHR charter?

• For this list, we will include all Cup Series teams who could buy an extra charter. This takes into account the recent report from Jordan Bianch that NASCAR could be limiting teams to only 3 charters per team as a condition of the next charter agreement.
• Pockrass reported that 23XI Racing, Trackhouse, and Front Row Motorsports are each purchasing one of the first three SHR charters. We will not include those teams on this list since there is less speculation about where those charters will go.
• Fans are bummed about SHR shutting down, but, they are also curious to see which charters end up where. Many want to see charters go to specific locations for one reason or another.

Richard Childress Racing

Jordan Bianchi originally reported last week that RCR was interested in purchasing a third charter, and he also reported that they were interested in one of SHR’s free-agent drivers, Noah Gragson. With that connection, it seems very possible that RCR could swoop in and take the last of those 4 SHR charters.

However, it all comes down to finances. Does RCR have the money to buy a fourth charter? That’s the question, but, their interest in Gragson makes them an obvious player for this fourth charter.

Kaulig Racing

Kaulig Racing Team President Chris Rice recently joined Sirius XM NASCAR Radio and squashed any rumors of a Kaulig Racing merger. Now that Trackhosue is all but certain to get one of SHR’s 4 charters, the merger rumors can officially be put to bed. Rice did tease something regarding Kaulig saying, “We’ve got exciting some stuff going on behind the scenes.”

Could that be a third Kaulig charter? It’s possible, but, it seems strange for a team to drop a veteran like A.J. Allmendinger one year due to lack of funding to suddenly pony up $10s of millions for a third charter. Regardless, Kaulig is always a team that plays their cards in ways no one expects.

Legacy Motor Club

Legacy Motor Club was always a strange team to be added to the charter conversation when Adam Stern first mentioned them in April. Now that 23XI Racing seems certain to purchase a charter, what does Legacy Motor Club or Toyota have to gain by adding an extra charter?

The main reason we could speculate LMC was in the conversation in the first place was to allow Toyota to expand beyond the current 8-car stable, the fewest in the Cup Series. However, LMC could look to expand simply for more data points and to put themselves up against the multi-car teams of the modern era.

JTG-Daugherty Racing

Bob Pockrass mentioned that JTG-Daugherty Racing is interested in expanding, but, he didn’t expect them to buy the SHR charter. This makes sense at JTG-Daugherty Racing is in a strange place right now. While they did re-sign Ricky Stenhousr Jr. to a long-term contract extension, the ownership group is uncertain.

Tad Geshickter is reportedly considering leaving the team and taking Kroger’s sponsorship. Should this happen, it would put JTG-Daugherty in a transitionary period, and buying a third charter might not be the wisest move.

RFK Racing

RFK Racing once had 5 teams in the 2000s back when it was just “Roush Racing”. They have since downsized to 2 cars, but, Brad Keselowski has helped turn that program completely around. Keselowski expressed interest in expanding to 3 cars in 2023, but, that hasn’t materialized to this point.

Keselowski commented the day SHR shut down on the potential to buy a third charter, and he said on social media, “I’m $30 (million) short at the moment. Friends say we should start a GoFundMe.” It seems RFK Racing will not buy a third charter for a while.

The Wood Brothers

This is more of a Ford thing than a Wood Brothers thing. The Wood Brothers have been a single-car operation since 1953. However, Ford might be short on race teams in 2024.

Currently, should FRM, 23XI, and Trackhouse buy a third charter, Ford will have only 11 cars, down from 14 this year. Ford would go from being tied for the most teams on the grid to having the second most, as Chevy would have 15, and Toyota would have 9. However, The Wood Brothers expanding hasn’t been a thing for over 70 years.

Rick Ware Racing

Just like The Wood Brothers, this would be more of a Ford thing than a Rick Ware Racing thing. Currently. RWR is still towards the bottom of the Cup Series owner’s standings, and they have only one full-time driver. Expansion might not be totally off the table, but, do they really need to expand?

However, with RFK not having the capital and The Wood Brothers being as old-school an operation as they are, RWR could be Ford’s best shot at expanding. Still, it could do more harm than good to a team that’s on an upward trajectory.

Who do you think should get the fourth SHR charter? Let us know on Discord or X what your take is, and don’t forget you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and even YouTube.