Ever since Stewart Haas Racing’s departure from NASCAR was announced, multiple teams have been plotting to expand their racing projects. Although the likes of Trackhouse Racing and 23XI Racing were touted to be the front runners to grab a charter for themselves. In reality, new players have changed the dynamics of this development.

Front Row Motorsports and a new entity named Haas Factory Team have been steadfast in grabbing a charter each. Justin Marks and Co. followed in their footsteps and will become a three-car team in 2025. Not long ago, Brad Keselowski and RFK Racing were also in the race to add a charter. But it seems like the deadlock situation between NASCAR and team owners has halted their progress in adding more strength to their team. The two parties haven’t reached an agreement to extend the charter deal that expires at the end of this year.

RFK Racing Team President Steve Newmark opened up on this lucrative idea of expanding to a three-car setup in 2025. And, he did express optimism surrounding their plans for a third car in 2025 but also highlighted the roadblocks that could derail their ambitious plans.

One step at a time for RFK Racing

The SHR charters that have been picked up by teams are reported to be around $20–25 million. Now that is indeed a big drop from the last purchase made by Spire Motorsports. They shelled out $40 million to Livefast Motorsports to field a third race car only last year. Although a sharp price decline is indeed a lucrative prospect, Brad Keselowski and Jack Roush aren’t desperate to make their move. Especially when there’s no final call on what the charter agreement would look like in 2025.

“So we started exploring how we could expand to a third car. We made progress to that, and I’m very hopeful that we’ll have a third car next year. But there’s a lot of different pieces of the puzzle to put in place, and the charter system is one of them. I mean, that’s a huge piece that you need to understand before you can make that commitment,” Steve Newmark revealed as he sat down with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

The ownership group is also aware of how aggressive expansion doesn’t equal improved output on the racetrack. “I think we’ve seen some lessons around out there, that if you expand too quickly, sometimes the growing pains can send you backwards. We felt like we needed to establish our two-car program as a lead and one that we thought that can go out and win every single time we showed up at the racetrack,” Newmark added.

Interestingly, Jack Roush previously ran a five-car team from 2003 to 2009. Therefore, he does have an idea of how expansion doesn’t always yield results. Moreover, the likes of Phoenix Racing, Red Bull Racing Team, Furniture Row Racing, and many others had to take the exit route owing to multiple reasons. So, RFK Racing’s reservations aren’t unjustified, and they are looking for clarity before making the big moves going forward.

If we are to assume that Brad Keselowski and his team added a third charter, then they’ll run into another hurdle. That is to find a suitable driver to lead the charge of the third entry.

Ryan Preece to RFK Racing in 2025?

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Of all four SHR drivers, Ryan Preece is the only one who has yet to secure his ride for the next year. The odds were stacked against him in finding a new team with mediocre runs in the Cup Series and without a big sponsor to back him. However, Kroger, who serves as the primary sponsor at JTG Daugherty Racing, is expected to jump ships in joining RFK Racing in 2025.

Prominent NASCAR reporter Jordan Bianchi shared the details about this potential partnership via his X account. “RFK Racing is progressing toward expanding to three full-time teams in 2025, a move that would likely include bringing aboard big-ticket sponsor Kroger as a team-wide sponsor and signing driver Ryan Preece, sources briefed on the move told @TheAthletic.”

Not only that, Bob Pockrass even tried to get the inside news while interviewing Brad Keselowski before the start of the playoffs. He asked the veteran driver, “Any news on having a third car next year, potentially Ryan Preece?”

Keselowski’s response while it was funny has further stoked this speculation spree, as he said, “Not today, Bob. Coming soon. Everything is in the realm of possible.”

Now again, such a decision is expected to revolve around the charter extension talks with NASCAR going into the next year.