Private equity groups are reportedly actively looking to co-own NASCAR Cup team with Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has long been looking to join NASCAR Cup series, and with the right terms he can join the top tier with a fellow investor.

Private equity groups are reportedly actively looking to co-own NASCAR Cup team with Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Via IMAGO)

The 2024 NASCAR Cup season is one of the most significant one of the recent years in a business perspective. The current charter deals the sanctioning body has with 16 teams that owns the 26 charters is set to expire at the end of the current season. Despite the urgency, no deals have been signed over huge gulf between the demands and offers.

NASCAR has to come to an agreement with the teams as soon as possible, considering the uncertainty would affect the interest parties interested in investing in the sport in the future. One such interested group are some private equity firms who wants to join the sport, with the biggest star in its history.

According to the reports from Sports Business Journal, some private equity firms interested in owning NASCAR teams are looking into persuading Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. to join them. They want his Xfinity team JR Motorsports to move into the Cup series, with the group investing on the charters.

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The exploration by private equity firms has industry executives wondering if one could persuade Dale Earnhardt Jr. to take his JR Motorsports team to NASCAR’s premier Cup Series if the firm puts up the price of a charter.
Adam Stern reported via SBJ.

NASCAR has a put a ban on sovereign wealth funds’ investments in the sports

While NASCAR is open to have investments from private equity firms, they have drawn a line on the level of investment. Recent guidelines from NASCAR suggest that they want to ban any investment from sovereign wealth funds probably to avoid the turmoil and bad PR many other sports businesses have found themselves in.

NASCAR Clash at the Colosseum
NASCAR Clash at the Colosseum 2024 (Via IMAGO)
NASCAR is negotiating a new charter agreement with teams and — showing how active the private equity sector is — drafts include rules for such investments. The guidelines could include a ban on sovereign wealth funds in NASCAR, a maximum percentage that a fund can acquire and language pertaining to who the main governing partner — or control person — can be. The potential ban on sovereign wealth funds has not been previously reported.
Adam Stern reported.

The charter agreement getting done as soon as possible and the provisions in it would dictate how the investors would look into NASCAR as the right place bet on. It would be interesting to see what is ahead for NASCAR in a business side in the coming years.  

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