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USA Today via Reuters

USA Today via Reuters

Once considered an elite team in the NASCAR Cup Series, Stewart-Haas Racing‘s standards have seemingly fallen drastically as the future of some of its cars are in doubt. After the departure of veterans like Kevin Harvick and Aric Almirola last year, Tony Stewart‘s organization took a blow after it lost several important sponsors like Anheuser-Busch and Smithfield Foods. With finances playing a big role in a competition like the Cup Series, sustaining four full-time teams with reduced sponsors is a tall order for anyone, let alone Tony Stewart.

Stewart-Haas Racing might charge exorbitantly for a NASCAR Cup charter

Many have opined how SHR does not have any star power to attract big sponsors in the Cup. With all of its drivers seemingly devoid of as many wins as they would want, the team seems to be lacking when it comes to dominating races. To add to that, Sports Business Journal had also reported that SHR was looking to sell a charter or two, and that there are several interested bidders including, 23XI Racing, JR Motorsports, Trackhouse Racing, and Legacy Motor Club.

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Xfinity Series driver Brennan Poole is a man who has his ear close to the ground when it comes to such discussions in the NASCAR Cup Series. In an earlier episode of the Power Hour podcast, he said that there were a couple of charter deals that could go through before the start of the 2025 season. “You definitely hear a lot of stuff in the garage. I think I definitely know some things that I probably shouldn’t know…I think there will probably be a couple by the end of the year,” he had said.

via Getty

Stewart-Haas Racing might not remain a Ford team next year since some rumors suggest that they are not considered a key partner any longer, although Chase Briscoe refuted these claims later on. However, their contract situation with Ford, that is set to end at the end of 2024, puts their future in a lot of uncertainty. Given how things have been going, it would not be surprising if they sold a couple of their charters.

And it would be quite lucrative. Charter value has reportedly skyrocketed by 11 times so SHR could sell a couple of their sponsors for almost $100 million. If Live Fast Motorsports can charge $40 million for their charter sale to Spire Motorsports, surely a Cup Series-winning team like SHR would not hesitate to ask for $50 million. However, SHR is not the only team to look out for.

Read More – Nick Sanchez Confesses Desire to Watch Kyle Busch “Scr*w Up” Amidst Failed Texas Victory Lane Hopes

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Despite Chris Rice’s earlier comments, is Kaulig Racing looking to sell charters?

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Kaulig Racing could also sell one or both of their charters for a similar amount of money, according to to reports. Chris Rice’s organization has a history of being competitive in the Xfinity Series and the lack of success in the Cup might force them to focus entirely on Xfinity in 2025. In January, Rice came out and said that their charters were not for sale, so where are these rumors coming from? The answer lies in Justin Haley who joined Rick Ware Racing from Kaulig in 2024.

“I was at a point where I felt like I just kind of plateaued. To a point, with respect, I don’t feel like there is a clear path to winning races where I was, competitively, weekly winning races. Obviously, you sign with RWR and I mean that’s not kind of your forward-thinking thing is to go out there and win races but I do feel like my runway is longer here. I feel like there are more opportunities down the line,” he said.

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Such comments certainly are a cause for intrigue. How can there be more opportunities at RWR, with all due respect, compared to Kaulig Racing? Was Justin Haley’s place in the competition in some uncertainty? Is that why he left in the first place? These are all questions that come to mind but it is important to remember that these are all speculations. What the future holds for Stewart-Haas Racing and Kaulig Racing will become a lot clearer as the year progresses.

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