“That Ship Has Sailed”- NASCAR’s Latest Monopoly Clause Forces Brutal Verdict From Dale Earnhardt Jr

Last week, NASCAR avoided a PR nightmare. It granted a waiver to Kyle Larson for missing the Coca-Cola 600. Yet the sanctioning body is plummeting down a sinkhole of criticism again. The latest clause update on the charter policy elicited a resounding uproar from teams. Now it seems slated to miff Dale Earnhardt Jr’s fans as well.

Co-owning JR Motorsports along with his sister, Kelley, Dale Earnhardt Jr fields racecars in the Xfinity Series. Now, whispers of entering the Cup Series have rung across the team’s circles multiple times. But with NASCAR’s newest clause proposal, that possibility may have dissolved.

Dale Earnhardt Jr pours cold water on Cup ambition

A short while ago, NASCAR made an offer to tweak the charter policy introduced in 2016. But it entailed little to no respite for teams that have been clamoring for permanent charters for so long. Instead, it expanded the owners’ control. Now the France family can buy their own stakes, which was not allowed under the previous charter agreement, per a Sports Business Journal report. Moreover, even private equity farms can buy into the sport.

The offer can endanger prominent teams as well. After Stewart-Haas Racing shuttered, several teams, including JR Motorsports, were interested in its charters. But Dale Earnhardt Jr recently confirmed they are out of the game. “We’re out of the charter business right now. I think I know where the charters that are on sale are going. Maybe by the time this is hitting their ways they’ve already been there and everything’s already settled. The sale of a charter…I’ll call it a cycle, right? But we missed the cycle, last cycle. We’ll see what comes down the road.”

With three championships and 58 Series victories to its name, JR Motorsports has a stellar record in the Xfinity Series. The team also maintains a distinction as the only NXS team to produce rookie champions. William Byron, Chase Elliott, and Tyler Reddick are the golden names to propel it to this glory. But joining its rookie stars in the Cup Series seems unlikely unless Dale Earnhardt Jr loosens some purse strings.

And Dale Jr confirmed that as a possibility. “If I were to ever get involved in the Cup side, it would be like an investment, my personal monetary investment in something current. So I would be open to talking to team owners about putting money into a particular, singular charter.”

But owning an autonomous Cup Series team is off the table, with NASCAR gripping control over the charter system with a chokehold. “I don’t know if we’ll ever have Junior Motorsports physically owning charters, running a race team, operating every facet of that. I think that that ship has sailed.”

Besides NASCAR’s unfair charter prospects, another reason may prevent JR Motorsports’ Cup entry. Dale Earnhardt Jr’s sister elaborated on that a few years ago.

The Cup’s ambition may be taxing

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Kelley Earnhardt Miller has supervised her brother’s racing career ever since their father tragically passed away in 2001. She has wielded JR Motorsports’ operations with an iron will and fielded several Xfinity drivers. Hence, Miller knows the ins and outs of NASCAR racing, making crucial decisions as the CEO of the race team.

In 2022, the prospect of JR Motorsports foraying into the Cup Series looked bright. Besides financial concerns, Kelley Earnhardt Miller highlighted a crucial aspect: her age. “I’m 50,” she said. “I don’t want to do this forever. It’s a big investment to figure out how you make that work over the long haul.” She added her ambitions outside the racing world. “I think people forget about this. It sounds great to go Cup racing, but there’s a life cycle you’re trying to fit into. I want to relax at some point in my life. I want to have grandkids and go to the cabin and do stuff like that.”

Although Miller could have adjusted her ambitions, now the scenario looks even more bleak. NASCAR’s charter policy came down as an axe on SHR, and now other teams are worried.