GMS Racing likely will not purchase the charter and assets of Furniture Row Racing ahead of the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Lots of rumors regarding Furniture Row Racing’s future in the NASCAR Cup Series have been swirling following the announcement that 5-hour ENERGY, one of their co-primary sponsors, would be leaving the Cup Series once the 2018 season comes to a close.
While Martin Truex Jr., the defending Cup Series champion and the driver of the Denver, Colorado-based team’s lone full-time car, the #78 Toyota, has admitted that the team will need to secure additional sponsorship if he is to continue driving for them after the 2018 season ends, team owner Barney Visser has struck down rumors that the team may be forced to shut down after this year.
Here is what Truex Jr. had to say about his odds of returning to Furniture Row Racing in 2019, according to ESPN.
"“That’s hard to put a number on. Honestly, I really don’t know. I think in another week or two, I’ll have a better answer for you, a better percentage. Right now, we need sponsorship. That’s as simple as it gets. So it’s hard to say. Is there a 50 percent chance we get that in a couple weeks or is there a 100 percent chance or is there 2 percent, I don’t know. I can tell you that everything really is based upon that.”"
Here is what Visser had to say about the possibility of Furniture Row Racing shutting down after the 2018 season reaches its conclusion, according to NBC Sports.
"“Furniture Row Racing continues to develop sponsorship opportunities for 2019 and beyond. We have aligned ourselves with great partners over the years and are very proud of the success our organization has achieved, especially the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series championship with Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing not fielding a team in 2019 is not an option and we have every intention of continuing to build on our success for years to come.”"
With Furniture Row Racing’s future being as uncertain as it is, recent rumors swirled about Truex Jr. potentially replacing Kurt Busch at Stewart-Haas Racing or one of the four Joe Gibbs Racing drivers next year.
An even more recent rumor involving Furniture Row Racing potentially selling their charter and assets to Xfinity and Truck Series team GMS Racing also emerged, and the possibility made sense.
The Statesville, North Carolina team are owned by Allegiant Travel Company CEO and Chairman Maury Gallagher, so Allegiant Airlines could replace the $10 million energy shot company as a primary sponsor of the #78 car.
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Plus, GMS Racing have been seeking to enter the Cup Series by doing something other than moving up their Xfinity Series team, as doing that would likely result in them not being all that competitive for at least a few seasons.
However, the odds of this rumor coming to fruition have drastically declined from what they once were, as neither Furniture Row Racing nor GMS Racing expect a deal involving the sale of Furniture Row Racing’s assets to GMS Racing to materialize at this point.
That said, given how silly season usually goes, it would not be wise to rule out this possibility for 2019, and if not for 2019, for 2020.
Is there still a chance that GMS Racing will purchase the charter and assets of Furniture Row Racing ahead of the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season? If not, what will happen to Furniture Row Racing between the 2018 and 2019 seasons?
For which team will Martin Truex Jr. end up driving after the 2018 season ends? Could Furniture Row Racing’s charter and assets potentially be sold to GMS Racing ahead of the 2020 season? There are still no definite answers to any of these questions.