NASCAR: The two teams at risk heading into 2022
By Asher Fair
Two teams enter the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season at risk of losing their charters once the season ends. But how real is the concern?
The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season is scheduled to get underway with the 64th annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway this afternoon.
This 36-race season is scheduled to get underway after a silly season/offseason full of driver movement and charter acquisitions, and that has left two teams entering the year at risk of losing their charters once the season ends.
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The 36 charter teams are held to a minimum performance standard in the Cup Series. This standard makes clear that if a charter team finishes in the bottom three of the owner standings (34th to 36th place) among those 36 teams for three consecutive seasons, NASCAR has the right to repossess that team’s charter.
Even if a charter is acquired by another team, it still owns its previous finishes in the standings. As a result, the #7 Spire Motorsports team and the #45 23XI Racing team are set to enter the 2022 season at risk of losing their charters for 2023.
Here are the final owner standings among the lowest three teams from the last two seasons.
2020
- 34th place – #00 StarCom Racing
- 35th place – #53 Rick Ware Racing
- 36th place – #51 Petty Ware Racing
2021
- 34th place – #15 Rick Ware Racing
- 35th place – #53 Rick Ware Racing
- 36th place – #00 StarCom Racing
This would indicate that the #00 StarCom Racing team and the #53 Rick Ware Racing team are at risk. However, both of their charters have moved on to new teams.
StarCom Racing shut down, and 23XI Racing purchased their charter to run a second entry, the #45 Toyota for Kurt Busch.
As for Rick Ware Racing, they have downsized from four cars to two cars for the 2022 season, and they sold the charter that they used to run the #53 car to Spire Motorsports.
Spire Motorsports had three charters in 2021, but they only used two to run their #7 Chevrolet and their #77 Chevrolet. They leased out the third one to Trackhouse Racing Team so that they could run their #99 Chevrolet.
But Spire Motorsports sold two of their three charters to Kaulig Racing for them to run their #16 Chevrolet and their #31 Chevrolet for the 2022 season, leaving them needing another one if they were to continue running a two-car program.
Interestingly — and strategically — the charter that Spire Motorsports acquired from Rick Ware Racing is set to be used to run their #7 Chevrolet for Corey LaJoie as opposed to their #77 Chevrolet, which is set to be driven by multiple drivers, including Landon Cassill and Josh Bilicki.
The #7 Chevrolet, with LaJoie as the full-time driver, is seen as a more likely option to avoid finishing in the bottom three in the owner standings than the #77 Chevrolet, so that is where the team are using the at-risk charter.
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The Daytona 500 is set to be broadcast live from Daytona International Speedway on Fox beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET this afternoon. If you haven’t begun your free trial of FuboTV, now would be a great time to do so!