In a sport as dollar-dependent as NASCAR, why would someone leave $60 million on the table? Moreover, why wouldn’t someone make a profit of $90 million instead of $30 million? The answer to those questions recently came in an admission by former Cup team owner, BJ McLeod.
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BJ McLeod stands by his decision to leave money on the table in charter sale
During a conversation with Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the Dale Jr. Download, McLeod opened up about him selling his Live Fast Motorsports charter in 2023. Earnhardt asked McLeod if he had any hesitation in making the sale, considering how the values were going up and the charter being the team’s foundation.
McLeod replied, “It was never hesitation. Making that transaction made sure that we were always successful in racing as a business.”
McLeod and Matt Tift started Live Fast Motorsports in 2020. They bought the charter for $10 million. But in 2023, they sold it for $40 million, with a profit of $30 million. However, McLeod potentially left a lot of money on the table, considering the value of charters skyrocketed and was on the rise even when he made the sale.
This was something even he was aware of. He told Earnhardt, “Everybody’s intention when we bought the charter, we totally believed in $100 million plus at some point. We did and always have, and I actually think it’s here right now.
“But then we were super excited for the Next Gen car and still a huge fan of the Next Gen car. But bottom line is it made it to where it brought attention to the sport that progressed the sport so quick in a short amount of time that the charters went from being what they were worth when we bought them to this massive amount of money in 24 months.”
McLeod’s claim of charter value reaching $100 million in future is also something Dale Jr. touched on last year. He stated that a $40 million charter is bound to be worth ‘$100 million or $150 million, $200 million or $250 million down the road.’
McLeod claimed that the decision to sell the charter came from a place of operational expenses. He said the 2022 season was ‘not much fun’ for the team, and by 2023, they were spending millions more than they ever intended to or had spent before. On top of that, they weren’t getting good finishes either, which is where he drew the line.
“That’s something I’m not about. When we worked harder, spent more money, and went backwards, I’m out,” he added.
Between 2021 and 2023, the #78 team of Live Fast Motorsports only managed two top 10 finishes. Apart from that, an overwhelming number of their finishes lie outside the top 20.
It’s worth mentioning that following his exit from the Cup Series as a charter owner, McLeod continued his operation in the O’Reilly Series. In 2024, he started in four races, and in three of those, he finished inside the top 20.
When NASCAR introduced the charter system all the way back in 2016, they were worth less than $5 million. Michael Waltrip Racing sold its two charters for $1.25 million and $3.25 million. However, the value of the charters began to rise and continues to rise to astronomical prices.
In 2025, Legacy Motor Club reportedly paid Rick Ware Racing $45 million for a charter, which goes to show that even after BJ McLeod selling his charter, the value began to rise to the point where it has prevented one of the sport’s biggest names from entering the Cup Series.
Even Dale Jr. isn’t willing to bear the cost of going full-time NASCAR Cup racing
While Dale Earnhardt Jr. has excelled as a team owner in the O’Reilly Series with JR Motorsports over the years, the question of when he’ll take the step up to Cup hasn’t gone away. And last year, when Dale Jr. was confronted by the same, he cited one reason that is preventing him from joining the Cup: charter prices.
Speaking about buying a $40 million charter to go full-time in Cup, the NASCAR Hall of Famer said, “I’m not doing that. That’s not something I’m interested in doing. That’s my prerogative. Now, I would invest $5M or $10M in the right situation. $5M, absolutely. Maybe more of my own money.”
He claimed that it would take an outside investor for him to consider the idea of going full-time Cup racing.
But until that happens, he wouldn’t want to invest all that money from his own pocket.
