23XI Racing charter acquisition deal reportedly falls through

Here’s possible options for 23XI Racing’s second NASCAR charter

23XI Racing joined the NASCAR Cup Series as a new organization in the 2021 season. The team is owned by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan.

23XI Racing has announced expansion plans for 2022. However, the puzzle pieces have yet to align.

The team announced that Kurt Busch would join the organization in the No. 45 car. That’s in addition to the No. 23 driven by Bubba Wallace.

The new team already has one charter for Bubba Wallace. However, a second charter is needed for Kurt Busch.

36 charters were issued years ago. A charter holders are guaranteed a starting spot in the NASCAR Cup Series.

In the days of COVID, qualifying has been eliminated from most races. With the fields set by a range of factors, a charter is almost required if a team plans to run every race on the schedule.

23XI Racing has big expansion plans in the works. The team has already purchased 3.7 million in land alone for a possible future race shop.

Bubba Wallace collected the first win for the organization in Talladega just a few weeks ago.

Trackhouse Racing was in a similar position as that team is also expanding to two cars in 2022. They went a different route and purchased the NASCAR division of Chip Ganassi Racing in whole. The team wasn’t for sale, however, they made them an offer “he couldn’t refuse.”

NASCAR Next Gen - Car Numbers - Kurt Busch — NASCAR Next Gen – Car Numbers – Kurt Busch

Where could 23XI Racing get their 2022 charter from?

Here’s the list:

StarCom Racing

StarCom Racing has been reported they would close shop at the end of the 2021 season. However, that hasn’t been officially announced.

An employee for the team tweeted that the team was set to close. However, that tweet was deleted.

As for the StarCom charter, Spire Motorsports is the most likely candidate to buy it.

Spire Motorsports has sold two of their three charters for 2022. One of those was leased to Trackhouse Racing this year. Each of the two charters sold were to Kaulig Racing.

Spire Motorsports plans to field two full-time machines in 2022. They’ll need to purchase a charter for the second car. They’re likely to purchase the StarCom charter.

Spire Motorsports could also purchase a charter then turn around and lease it to 23XI Racing.

Front Row Motorsports

Front Row Motorsports currently owns two charters.

There’s many rumors surrounding Front Row Motorsports and 23XI Racing. One rumor suggested that these two organizations might merge for 2022.

FRM has not released a driver lineup for 2022. That further fueled rumors the team would drop from the grid in it’s current state.

Anthony Alfredo and Michael McDowell currently pilot the two cars for the team.

This was the most likely option. However, talks between the operations have reportedly collapsed.

Bob Pockrass tweeted, “Sources indicate 23XI tentative deal for a charter from Front Row has collapsed, as Front Row has walked away from final talks. One option for 23XI likely is to talk with Spire, which is expected to have at least two charters in 2022. FRM could remain two-car Cup team in 2022.”

Rick Ware Racing

Rick Ware Racing currently field four charter cars. The team isn’t interested in selling any of them. However, leasing a charter could be an option.

NASCAR has performance clauses on charter holders. Those numbers are collected over a three year period. The #51 Petty Ware Racing has an average finish beyond 30th place.

Repossession of a charter is at NASCAR’s discretion. Just because a team meets criteria for repossession, that doesn’t mean it will happen.

The charter used by Rick Ware Racing for their #51 entry is actually owned by Richard Petty Motorsports.

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Here’s possible options for 23XI Racing’s second NASCAR charter