NASCAR: The other important battle that came down to the wire

It wasn’t all about the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series championship battle in Sunday afternoon’s season finale at Phoenix Raceway.

Kyle Larson secured the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series championship in the season finale at Phoenix Raceway to cap off a dominant first year with Hendrick Motorsports as the driver of the #5 Chevrolet, but that wasn’t the only key battle taking place at the four-turn, 1.022-mile (1.645-kilometer) oval in Avondale, Arizona on Sunday afternoon.

The other one was the battle for 33rd place in the owner standings (sounds about as exciting as it is), simply due to the potential ramifications for one team if they finished in the bottom three.

Notably, this battle for 33rd place was only important as it pertained to the 36 charter teams, meaning that the 27th place #37 JTG Daugherty Racing team was not included when determining the top 33.

Entering Sunday afternoon’s 312-lap race, here is how things stood from 32nd to 36th place.

• 32nd place – #52 Rick Ware Racing: 213 points (+9)
• 33rd place – #51 Petty Ware Racing: 208 points (+4)

——————BOTTOM 3 CUT LINE——————

• 34th place – #15 Rick Ware Racing: 204 points (-4)
• 35th place – #53 Rick Ware Racing: 197 points (-11)
• 36th place – #00 StarCom Racing: 175 points (-33)

A finish of 34th place or worse for the #51 Petty Ware Racing team would have given NASCAR the right to repossess the team’s charter after the 2021 season, as it would have been this particular team’s third consecutive season in the bottom three. In 2019, the team finished in 34th place, and in 2020, it finished in 36th (last).

Charter teams are held to a minimum performance standard in the Cup Series which makes clear that NASCAR has the right to repossess a charter from any team that finishes among the bottom three in the owner standings for three straight seasons.

Notably, this doesn’t guarantee repossession; it simply gives NASCAR that right. In this case, NASCAR probably would have allowed the team to sell the charter, especially considering the fact that the #51 team is actually a Rick Ware Racing team that operates using a charter from Richard Petty Motorsports.

Fortunately for the #51 team, their efforts in the season finale denied NASCAR that right.

Take a look at where these five teams finished Sunday’s race.

• #51 Petty Ware Racing: Cody Ware – 28th place (9 points)
• #53 Rick Ware Racing: Joey Gase – 29th place (8 points)
• #52 Rick Ware Racing: Josh Bilicki – 30th place (7 points)
• #15 Rick Ware Racing: Garrett Smithley – 31st place (6 points)
• #00 StarCom Racing: Quin Houff – 37th place (1 point)

As a result, take a look at the final owner standings from 32nd to 36th place.

• 32nd place – #52 Rick Ware Racing: 220 points (+10)
• 33rd place – #51 Petty Ware Racing: 217 points (+7)

——————BOTTOM 3 CUT LINE——————

• 34th place – #15 Rick Ware Racing: 210 points (-7)
• 35th place – #53 Rick Ware Racing: 205 points (-12)
• 36th place – #00 StarCom Racing: 176 points (-41)

This means that the #53 Rick Ware Racing team and the #00 StarCom Racing team have now finished in the bottom three in each of the last two seasons, as they placed 35th and 34th, respectively, in 2020.

However, the only team for which this may pose an issue in 2022 is the #53 team, as the #00 team have sold their charter (rumored sale to Spire Motorsports) and said goodbye to their fans ahead of this past weekend’s season finale at Phoenix Raceway.

So the #53 team finds itself in the same position that the #51 team found itself this year. Strategically speaking, of course, Rick Ware Racing could technically ensure a top 33 finish for this team for 2022.

However, the story may not be over, as Rick Ware Racing have admitted to being open to leasing out at least one of their charters for next year.

So while NASCAR won’t have the right to repossess the charter that is still technically owned by Richard Petty Motorsports (and likely could have been sold even if NASCAR had obtained that right), Rick Ware Racing may not even end up running four chartered entries next year anyway. We’ll just have to wait and see.