NASCAR team at serious risk of losing charter for 2022?

If the standings don’t change, NASCAR will be in a position where they could repossess one of the 36 Cup Series charters after the 2021 season.

There are just three races remaining in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season following Sunday afternoon’s round of 8 opener at Texas Motor Speedway.

While the focus is on the eight remaining championship contenders, specifically the seven vying for the final three spots in the Championship 4 after Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson clinched his spot by winning Sunday, there is another crucial battle to watch in the standings.

And that is the battle for 33rd in the owner standings among the 36 charter teams.

As far as on-track competition is concerned, this isn’t a battle that anybody really cares about, but the ramifications of who ends up in 33rd when the checkered flag flies on Sunday, November 7 at Phoenix Raceway could prove huge in the grand scheme of things.

This is the case because of the minimum performance standard to which charter teams are held in the Cup Series. This performance standard makes clear that if any one charter team finishes in the bottom three of the owner standings (34th to 36th place) among the 36 charter teams in three consecutive seasons, NASCAR has the right to repossess that team’s charter.

Take a look at the bottom three in the standings in 2019 and 2020.

2019

• 34th place – #51 Petty Ware Racing
• 35th place – #77 Spire Motorsports
• 36th place – #52 Rick Ware Racing

2020

• 34th place – #00 StarCom Racing
• 35th place – #53 Rick Ware Racing
• 36th place – #51 Petty Ware Racing

So entering the 2021 season, the #51 Petty Ware Racing team faced the possibility of finishing in the bottom three of the owner standings for three straight seasons.

And with three races remaining in the 36-race season, that is where this team sits.

Take a look.

2021 (through 33 of 36 races)

• 34th place – #51 Petty Ware Racing
• 35th place – #53 Rick Ware Racing
• 36th place – #00 StarCom Racing

Take a look at the cut line as far as 33rd place is concerned.

RANK – Team: Points (+/- cut line)

• 32nd place – #52 Rick Ware Racing: 207 points (+12)
• 33rd place – #15 Rick Ware Racing: 199 points (+4)

————————-CUT LINE————————-

• 34th place – #51 Petty Ware Racing: 195 points (-4)
• 35th place – #53 Rick Ware Racing: 191 points (-8)
• 36th place – #00 StarCom Racing: 170 points (-29)

Notably, the #53 and #00 teams would be at risk of finishing in the bottom three for three straight years next year if they cannot improve throughout the final three races of 2021. But the latter will already reportedly be without a charter next year due to an unconfirmed sale to Spire Motorsports.

Of course, NASCAR is by no means required to repossess a charter even if that option is available after three consecutive seasons of poor performance.

But this scenario is particularly interesting because of the fact that the #51 team is technically a Rick Ware Racing team, but it is run as Petty Ware Racing because it is operated using a charter owned by Richard Petty Motorsports.

Could Richard Petty Motorsports opt to sell or lease out that charter for 2022? Rick Ware himself has said that he is open to leasing out at least one of his charters for next year, and there are still multiple teams, including 23XI Racing and GMS Racing, looking to announce charters for next season. In fact, the former just had what was perceived as a “done deal” fall through.

Bottom line: don’t ignore those seemingly useless battles several laps down at the back of the pack as you take in the final three races of this year’s championship battle.