Will Dale Earnhardt Jr. Enter Cup Series as Owner? NASCAR Legend Gives Update Amid Charter Drama

Former NASCAR driver and Xfinity team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. has publicly spoken of the desire to take his nationwide series team, JR Motorsports, to the big leagues in American stock car racing. However, the dream to go Cup Series racing for one of Xfinity Series’ best-performing racing outfits seems to be largely out of the question in the near future.

Dale Jr. has spoken several times on the ongoing topic of NASCAR Cup charters in the sport and the perennial debate surrounding the same between team owners and members of the governing body. The former Hendrick Motorsports driver touched on the same as he elaborated on JRM being a Cup Series team a worthwhile project to pursue.

He told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, “The one thing that I will be paying the most attention to is whether NASCAR makes the charters permanent or not. That doesn’t really matter in the decision for me to become an owner of a charter.”

 

Junior also touched on how JR Motorsports as a team can go about pursuing its Cup Series growth without the need for a full-fledged NASCAR charter and added further, “There’s two ways for us to go at JR Motorsports. Kelley and I could bring in some financial support to acquire charters. That’s kind of been the idea in our minds. If that’s not something that me and Kelley both want, there is that opportunity to invest in a current team and invest a single charter.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s decision rests on NASCAR Charter Agreement

While Junior did not come out and blatantly favor one way or another of going Cup Series racing, it is quite evident that the former driver-turned-broadcaster has reserved his decision on how the charter agreement scenario pans out ahead of NASCAR’s long overdue TV deal renewal.

The 49-year-old subtly hinted at what the future holds for his Xfinity Series team, which in turn is dependent on how the future of NASCAR Cup Series charters and the debate surrounding their permanency in the sport.

Several other drivers such as 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin have spoken publicly about how team owners expect their investment in the sport to be honored. A permanent charter can be passed down in the team as generational wealth, which several team owners are advocating for currently.