Dale Earnhardt Jr. has always flirted with the idea of taking JR Motorsports to the NASCAR Cup Series. In doing so, he will fulfill his dream and somewhat ignite a revival of Dale Earnhardt Inc., which has now been reduced to a museum and memorabilia. However, the uncertainty regarding team operations and charter ownership at the Cup level has refrained him from taking a bet so far.

Junior didn’t entertain the idea of getting his hands on one of the four available Stewart Haas Racing charters. The sole reason behind this was the nature of how unsustainable and uncertain owning a Cup charter is, especially during the year when NASCAR and the team have been at loggerheads in signing a new charter agreement.

Ownership of teams/charters is an important aspect for Dale Earnhardt Jr. to enter Tier 1

One of the big talking points from the stalled charter negotiation has been around teams wanting permanent charters. Right now, it’s a recurring deal that has to be renewed by both parties. Essentially, NASCAR owns the majority of tracks, and the sport itself takes home a bigger piece of the pie. The only thing the team owners think would safeguard their investment in the sport is getting the charters permanent.

Michael Jordan, the co-owner of 23XI Racing, explained why teams are holding their ground against NASCAR to get permanent ownership of their charters: “If you don’t correct that [and introduce the concept of permanent ownership], the sport’s going to die, not because of the competition aspect, but because economically, it doesn’t make sense for any business people.”

A report by the Sports Business Journal stated that private equity firms could fuel Dale Earnhardt Jr. and JRM drivers to enter the Cup Series. “The exploration by private equity firms has industry executives wondering if one could persuade Dale Earnhardt Jr. to take his JR Motorsports team to NASCAR’s premier Cup Series if the firm puts up the price of a charter,” the report read. But, again, this is a far-fetched thought given how fragile the values of the charters are currently.

The SHR charter bought by FRM is expected to be in the range of $20–25 million. For context, Spire Motorsports purchased a LiveFast Motorsport charter for $40 million in 2023. So you see how quickly the value of charters changes. In a past episode of Dale Jr Download, the NASCAR veteran said, “There’s no way at the current selling price that I personally am gonna go out and buy a charter myself.” Highlighting just how crucial permanent charters would be for him to consider joining the Cup Series, Junior added, “If I owned a charter and had one right now on this table, I would want to own it forever.”

This just goes to show how the current dynamics of the charter negotiations have impacted the price of the charter as well as for teams to plan ahead. And if what Denny Hamlin had to say about the negotiations is anything to go by, the possibility of seeing JR Motorsports in the Cup Series is quite bleak. NASCAR management needs to understand how crucial teams and drivers are to the success of the organization, per Hamlin. However, that’s not happening at the moment.

“We’re banging our heads up against the wall because, repeatedly, as these negotiations have gone on, there’s been no negotiation,” Michael Jordan’s fellow 23XI co-owner revealed. “Every proposal they send back to us is worse than the previous. That is factual; it keeps getting worse. We are worse off than we were 2 years ago, and we are 8 months away from the Daytona 500 and there not being any charters.” But all hopes are not lost for Dale Earnhardt Jr., as they could team up with a powerhouse racing family, who are also looking to enter the Cup Series. Does that mean the JRM drivers could be more stable?

Dale Earnhardt Jr. & Co. have confirmed Connor Zilisch with a multi-year deal, and he’s scheduled to make his first of four Xfinity starts for JR Motorsports on September 14 at Watkins Glen. This development has left Brandon Jones and Sam Mayer on edge, considering Sammy Smith’s contract has also been renewed. However, if JR Motorsports makes a Cup debut, one of the two drivers with uncertain futures might just land a spot.

JR Andretti Motorsports could become a reality

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Andretti Global is a motorsports mogul when it comes to competing in different disciplines of racing. They have their racing operations in IndyCar, IMSA, Sportscar, Super COPA, and also the Australian Supercar. The Andretti group, backed by the support of GM’s Cadillac, was looking to enter Formula 1 with a bid that was accepted by the FIA (F1’s governing body) but not the Formula One Management (FOM), the commercial body owned by American conglomerate Liberty Media.

This certainly opened up a window for them to look elsewhere, and NASCAR seemed to be the right pick. These intentions were made clear by Andretti Global president JT Thornman, “We’re the only ones that compete in the amount of series that we do. And then the ambition that Mike still has – we still have to close the loop obviously with Formula 1, that’s well documented, and hopefully NASCAR.” What if they directly jump to Tier 1? And if so, partnering with Junior could be a feasible option.

Although the Andrettis are open to the idea of racing in the Cup Series, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is likely to be hesitant to make any moves until the new charter agreement is signed.