Ever since Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a chat with the legendary driver Mario Andretti on his show, he’s been yearning for ownership prospects in the Cup Series. During the meeting, the JR Motorsports co-owner jokingly tabled the idea of forging a partnership with the Andretti racing family to enter the Cup Series.

“If y’all wanted to change courses, maybe the Earnhardt’s and Andretti’s could team up and buy a couple of NASCAR charters,” Jr. stated. However, the current stalemate circumstances between NASCAR and 23XI Racing would deter anyone from purchasing an ownership stake. But Dale Earnhardt Jr. wants to achieve the dream of entering the prestigious Daytona 500 race as a team owner. Let’s just say he has a clear vision.

The JRM Cup Series team idea isn’t entirely off the table

McLaren CEO Zak Brown joined Dale Earnhardt Jr. on his podcast after announcing Kyle Larson’s second attempt at the historic “double” next year. Both Hendrick Motorsports and McLaren have been able to foster a profitable relationship. One which has allowed HMS driver Larson to compete in the crown jewel race, the Indy 500. Although this partnership permits HMS to compete in a different series, Brown expressed the desire to compete at the Daytona 500 race with Rick Hendrick.

And that was it to hook Dale Jr. back to his ambitious plans of being a cup team owner. “I’ve got the same dream as you. You know, growing up in NASCAR, the idea of owning a car full time is a hell of an idea. But now the one thing that I hope happens for me one day is to be an owner entered into the Daytona 500. I just want that experience; if only that experience, that’s the one I hope for,” Jr. said on the Dale Jr. Download.

Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, and Jimmie Johnson have competed as drivers at the historic track. Since then, they have been fortunate enough to oversee their race cars compete under their team banner’s name. While, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has won two Daytona 500 trophies, ownership of a race car even if for a single event excites him.

“Because that’s kind of the main stage in NASCAR and you want to experience it once. I’ve done it as a driver in a lot of different ways, but I think rolling a car out there as an owner, saying. Alright, we’re here, we’re ready to go, putting a car on the grid. That would be a great experience,” he added.

Now, that’s the sentimental and emotional side of Dale Jr. He had some interesting opinions about the deadlock situation between NASCAR and 23XI Racing.

Dale Jr. highlights the root cause of friction between NASCAR and teams

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The crux of the matter is that NASCAR wasn’t hoping for the charters to turn into franchises. While they did assure the teams a starting position on the grid along with the TV revenue, but that was about it. But now the teams want ownership over their charters, which would make them franchises like other major sporting leagues and series in America.

“The teams have shifted the idea that a charter is a franchise. The charter is like owning the Indianapolis Colts. I don’t think that NASCAR ever thought it would be that. Now the teams have created value in owning the charters, and to them, it is as if they have a franchise in their hands. So I can see both sides of it, and so I think that’s where there’s not a lot of command ground between the two.” Dale Jr. said on his show.

Despite the public feud between 23XI Racing and NASCAR, Jr. feels that the two parties would eventually reach a consensus. Thus, refuting the idea and the potential scenario of NASCAR taking over the team’s charters and sparking a court battle between the two.