Stewart-Haas Racing Shutting Down at Season’s End
What’s Happening The day that many expected but few yearned for has come. Stewart-Haas Racing has announced through a joint-statement from…
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?
What’s Happening The day that many expected but few yearned for has come. Stewart-Haas Racing has announced through a joint-statement from…
What’s Happening? NASCAR Silly Season continues to get sillier. Jordan Bianchi reported on Thursday that Richard Childress Racing is one…
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.
What’s Happening? Kaulig Racing Team President Chris Rice joined Sirius XM NASCAR Radio on Thursday, and he addressed recent rumors…
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.
What’s Happening? When SHR charter rumors started floating around, Adam Stern reported that Legacy Motor Club was potentially interested in…
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.
What’s Happening? 2023 Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is staying put for the next few years. He announced on…
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 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.
What’s Happening? Harrison Burton was on the hot seat heading into 2024, and it appears The Wood Brothers is set…
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.
What’s Happening? Rick Ware Racing was one of the most intriguing race teams of the offseason, signing Justin Haley as…
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.
Garrett Mitchell, better known by his online persona Cleetus McFarland, says his 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series schedule isn’t set in stone, something the YouTube star explained to Dale Earnhardt Jr on the latest episode of The Dale Jr Download.
One of the biggest surprises in recent NASCAR news is that YouTube star Cleetus McFarland, whose real name is Garrett Mitchell, will make his NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut next month at Rockingham Speedway.
Mitchell, who has just won a NASCAR National Series start to his name, will make this start with Richard Childress Racing in their No. 33 car as part of a part-time development contract that will see him make starts in 2026 and 2027.
Per Mitchell, his contract will cover three races per season, though he hinted it could be more in a Facebook post. Nonetheless, fans are eagerly awaiting an official schedule of what other tracks Mitchell and RCR will tackle in 2026.
Unfortunately, fans will have to wait a little longer for this schedule, as the 30-year-old Floridian explained during a recent interview with Dale Earnhardt Jr, his 2026 schedule is still up in the air a month ahead of his first race.
During an interview on the latest episode of the Dale Jr Download, Mitchell told Earnhardt that while he plans to race the superspeedways after Rockingham, with his sights set on Talladega’s April 25 or October 24 race weekend, the decision lies in the hands of NASCAR.
“NASCAR said I cannot run Talladega unless I go to Rockingham first and do well,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell then clarified that while he will have a rookie test for Rockingham, the race at Rockingham will determine his eligibility to race at Talladega.
What’s Happening? YouTube star-turned-NASCAR driver Garrett Mitchell, best known by his online persona Cleetus McFarland, has signed a part-time deal to…
Mitchell, who has two ARCA starts at Daytona and one at Talladega, has already taken a rookie test this season at Rockingham for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
Despite a minor crash during this test, Mitchell was cleared to race in the season-opening race at Daytona, crashing himself in a single truck spin five laps into the race, after a valiant qualifying effort.
Even with the barrier of Rockingham in the way, fans are already somewhat concerned about McFarland’s skills, given the result of his short time behind the wheel of a truck.
During this episode of The DJD, Mitchell expressed his intentions to work his way up the ladder and learn, but with the caveat that if an opportunity presents itself to him, he will take it, using the Daytona 500 and the NASCAR Cup Series as a metaphorical example.
“I don’t want to drive a Cup car right now. But, brother, if someone calls me and says, ‘We got a spot in a Cup car in the Daytona 500?’ I mean, what am I supposed to do?” — Cleetus McFarland
Despite his doubters, with the support of RCR and their developmental tools, Mitchell seems confident about the opportunity, already getting in some sim time with RCR.
Either way, no matter how much support he has in his corner, Mitchell is diving in headfirst once again with this opportunity.
What’s Happening? Despite his internet fame, Garrett Mitchell, by his screen name Cleetus McFarland, has recently taken to stock car racing…
What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
Lionel has officially opened pre-orders for Garrett Mitchell’s (better known as Cleetus McFarland) first-ever NASCAR diecast.
What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
YouTube star-turned-NASCAR driver Garrett Mitchell, best known by his online persona Cleetus McFarland, has signed a part-time deal to race with Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series for the next two seasons.
UPDATE 3:00 PM EST: Per RCR Mitchell will make his debut at Rockingham Speedway on April 4.
What’s Happening? Despite his internet fame, Garrett Mitchell, by his screen name Cleetus McFarland, has recently taken to stock car racing…
What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
