Dale Earnhardt Jr. has never been afraid to speak his mind, even if it goes against NASCAR’s hierarchy. But the NASCAR Hall of Famer finds himself in a bind when it comes to the current legal dispute between Legacy Motor Club and Rick Ware Racing.
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LMC has sued RWR for seeking to void a contract signed between the two organizations over a month ago. The deal was signed to lease one of RWR’s charters to LMC.
However, because of what appears to be a massive mistake and oversight that no one on either side caught initially, LMC says in its suit that RWR had agreed to lease its charter to the Jimmie Johnson co-owned operation starting in the 2026 season. But not so fast, contends RWR.
It claims the contract stipulates that it would lease the charter to LMC starting with the 2027 season. This is something LMC claims it never agreed to — even though it signed the contract in good faith.
And while he has no dog in this fight, Junior — a Xfinity Series team co-owner — is torn about whom he should side with: LMC and Johnson, his former teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, or the underdog, RWR. He explained his dilemma by narrating how running a race team isn’t a profitable venture if one plans to exit.
“It’s pretty shocking, honestly. I’m torn in two about this because of this. Part of me is very happy that a race team, that you can start a business, and then you have some value to sell,” Junior said on this week’s edition of the Dale Jr. Download.
“If I wanted to sell this company and these four [Xfinity Series] cars and everything we’ve got here, you’re selling it for pennies on the dollar. And except for the land and building you own, you’re getting no real true value out of everything in it,” he elaborated.
“All the parts and pieces and equipment and all the machines and fabrication, all that stuff is going to be sold at a very big discount. If you get into racing and want to get out, you’ve got nothing to show for it because none of this stuff is valuable to anyone outside of this building,” added Dale Jr.
Then again, the Charter system, though not without cons, has changed the landscape for the better.
Cup Charters have given real value to team owners
“Now, teams have a charter that they can sell and sell equity in, including part — maybe 30 percent or whatever equity in the charter — and you have real value,” Junior said.
“If you get into this sport and sell it one day, it may be worth three, four, or even five times what you paid for it. That’s awesome. I love that,” he added.
But then the Charter system has also made it very challenging for any new person to enter the business, unless they have big money.
“It was possible for millionaires to go racing just a few years ago, but now it has to be a billionaire who needs to be involved. You see it with all these teams bringing in all that private equity. That’s massive money,” said Junior.
“It’s wild, man. What I think will happen, and this is good, is I believe the value of charters is well north of $150 million. That ceiling, I don’t think anyone could predict,” concluded Dale Jr.
