NASCAR: The crucial battle that most fans are ignoring

Aside from the obvious NASCAR Cup Series playoff battle, there is another key battle to watch over the 2021 season’s final two races.

Much if not all of the focus over the last several weeks has been on the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs and the battle for the 2021 championship, and justifiably so.

We are down to eight championship contenders, and there are three spots still open in the Championship 4 with just one round of 8 race remaining after Kyle Larson won the first two at Texas Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway.

But beyond the obvious battles at the front, there is another interesting — and quite crucial — battle taking place within the Cup Series field, primarily due to its potential implications on the future.

That battle is an intense battle for 33rd place in the owner standings among the charter teams.

Sure, nobody, from a fan’s standpoint at least, *actually* cares who finishes in 33rd place in the owner standings, especially considering the fact that several of the cars in that battle have been driven by multiple drivers throughout the season. Even fewer people care about it considering the championship battle which is currently taking place.

But this battle is a crucial one because of the fact that one of the teams involved is the #51 team of Petty Ware Racing.

There happens to be a minimum performance standard in the Cup Series to which charter teams are held, and this standard makes clear that if one of such teams finishes in the bottom three of the owner standings (from 34th to 36th place) among the 36 charter teams for three straight seasons, NASCAR has the right to repossess the team’s charter.

And this could very well become an option for NASCAR in regard to the #51 team.

In 2019, the team finished in 34th place, and in 2020, it finished in 36th (last). This team is the only team to finish from 34th to 36th in both 2019 and 2020 and thus entered the year as the only team facing the potential threat of charter repossession.

With two races remaining, the #51 team sits in 33rd place in the standings, but just one point ahead of the 34th place team and five points ahead of the 35th place team.

The 36th place team, the #00 team of StarCom Racing, sits well behind everybody else. This team also finished in the bottom three (34th) last year, but there are rumors that the team’s charter has already been sold for 2022, which would eliminate the threat of potential repossession for 2023.

An argument could be made that the #51 team will be safe, however, given the fact that there are four Rick Ware Racing teams in a row from 32nd to 35th place.

Take a look below.

• 32nd place – #52 Rick Ware Racing: 211 points (+11)
• 33rd place – #51 Petty Ware Racing: 201 points (+1)

——————BOTTOM 3 CUT LINE——————

• 34th place – #15 Rick Ware Racing: 200 points (-1)
• 35th place – #53 Rick Ware Racing: 196 points (-5)

Strategically speaking, Rick Ware Racing could ensure that the #51 team doesn’t end up in a position where repossession, or perhaps a forced sale, are options available to NASCAR.

But unfortunately for them, they may deal with the same issue next year with the #53 team, as that team finished last year in 35th place as well.

The 2021 season’s final two races are scheduled to take place on Sunday, October 31 at Martinsville Speedway (2:00 p.m. ET, NBC) and Sunday, November 7 at Phoenix Raceway (3:00 p.m. ET, NBC). Start your free trial of FuboTV today so you don’t miss any of the action!