NASCAR: Roush Fenway Racing sell charter to Team Penske
By Alex Herbst
Another charter is on the move ahead of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, with Roush Fenway selling one of theirs to Team Penske.
Charters have been on the move throughout the 2017-18 NASCAR offseason, and yet another one is shifting places ahead of the 2018 season. Just two days into the new year, two veteran teams have brokered a deal, transferring one charter between enemy lines of the Ford Performance camp. Roush Fenway Racing has sold one of their charters to Team Penske for use with the new #12 Ford team of Ryan Blaney.
The charter change was widely expected for both teams in 2018. Ryan Blaney ran in 2016 with Wood Brothers Racing without a charter as an open team, but then leased a charter from Go Fas Racing the following year. Roush Fenway has not run a third team since 2016, instead opting to lease the charter originally tied to the #16 Ford in 2017 to JTG-Daugherty Racing for Chris Buescher. After the #37 team purchased their own charter for 2018, RFR would have been left to lease either the #6 or #17 charter and use the #16 on one of their existing teams, or sell it. They chose the latter option.
The move was first reported by ESPN’s Bob Pockrass on Twitter:
Roush Fenway Racing confirmed it has sold a charter to Penske Racing, which needed one for the addition of the No. 12 NASCAR Cup car with driver Ryan Blaney to its stable for 2018. Roush Fenway sold the charter – NASCAR's form of a franchise that... https://t.co/KW7VeLOZ5d
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) January 2, 2018
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Roush Fenway had earlier confirmed that they would remain with two Cup Series teams in 2018, once again fielding entries for Trevor Bayne and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. They will also field two Xfinity Series teams full-time in the new season, with Ryan Reed running for the championship in the #16 Ford and the #60 Ford being shared by Ford Performance development drivers. This includes Ty Majeski, Chase Briscoe, and Austin Cindric.
Two charters remain unclear now going into the 2018 season. Richard Childress Racing has not confirmed how they will use the #27 Chevy charter in the new year, whether for one of their cars or for another they will lease it out to.
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The other issue surrounds a charter sold by BK Racing to Front Row Motorsports, which may be tied up in bank loan troubles for the former.