It has been a year since B.J. McLeod sold the charter of Live Fast Motorsports to Spire Motorsports. He co-owned the team with Matt Tifft since 2021 but was forced to sell due to his inability to boost track performance. Tony Stewart can attest that such outcomes are always heartbreaking for team owners. However, McLeod is happier now that the weight is off him.
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In a recent interview, the driver told RACER Magazine, “[I’m] very happy with the decision. If I had to say one way or the other, I’m happier now than I was a year ago. That decision is something I’ll always be thankful we had the opportunity (to do) and proud we went in that direction.”
Live Fast Motorsports had been in a tricky situation following the introduction of NASCAR’s Next Gen car. The team couldn’t meet its expectations on the race track and couldn’t find the money to keep trying to do so. McLeod and Tifft decided to sell in light of the high price others were willing to pay for the charter (It was sold for approximately $40 million).
The clever financial move does not mean McLeod has no melancholy residing in his heart. He went from driving the No. 78 car full-time to competing in it part-time.
He added, “Not being at the track every week is hard for (wife) Jessica and I because the NASCAR family is our family. We miss seeing the people.”
How being the owner of a team affected McLeod’s performance
McLeod’s performances in 2024 were noticeably better than in years prior. This can be tied in with the notion that he now feels freer without a charter or a huge payroll to worry about. He admitted the same in his interview and pointed out that he had almost forgotten what it was like to race without anything but performance in mind.
“There were also a lot of races that I had to make decisions based on making sure I could cover payroll for the people who take care of us and making sure we were keeping equipment together so we made it through the offseason,” he said. “There were a lot of things mixed into it. When I go to the racetrack now, I don’t worry about anything.”
He drove for MBM Motorsports alongside Live Fast this year. He is set to continue with a part-time schedule for the next. In another avenue, the charter that he sold was used to house the third entry of Spire Motorsports in 2024. Considering McLeod’s satisfaction levels, the deal was something that every party benefitted from.
