$300M Dale Earnhardt Jr. decides against JRM Cup Series entry with charter purchase

NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently talked about his and Kelley Earnhardt's team JR Motorsports purchasing a charter in the Cup Series. Dale Jr. revealed that they are currently "out of the charter business".

The speculation of JRM eyeing a charter purchase in the Cup Series after the closure of Stewart-Haas Racing and the selling of their four-car charter team by the end of the 2024 season set the NASCAR community abuzz. However, according to a recent interview, former NASCAR driver Dale Jr, who has a net worth of $300 million (according to Celebrity Net Worth), seemed against the speculations of JRM participation in the Cup Series.

In a conversation with FOX Sports' Bob Pockrass, the 49-year-old Dale Jr. cleared the air concerning the charter negotiations. Dale Jr. said:

"We’re out of the charter business right now. ... The sale of a charter, I would call it a cycle, right? Well, we missed this last cycle."

Two-time Daytona 500 winner also added that if his team ever gets into a charter acquisition in the Cup Series it would be solely because of an investment, his "personal monetary investment in something current".

"I would be open to talking to team owners about putting money into a particular singular charter and saying, "Hey, I'm going to park an investment here in this charter. I'm leaving that for my generations down the road, my girls and what have you," It wouldn't be anything other than that."

"So I don't know if we'll ever have JR Motorsports physically owning charters, running a race team operating every facet of that. I think that that ship has sailed." Dale Jr. said.

The two-time Xfinity Series champion Dale Jr. and his sister Kelly Earnhardt, the co-owner of JRM, field a four-car charter team in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Apart from that, JRM also competes in the iRacing Series, CARS Tour, and the Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s sister Kelley's thoughts on charter being an appreciating asset but not a profitable one

Kelley Earnhardt Miller is an American businesswoman, who is the chief executive officer of JR Motorsports and a co-owner of the team with NASCAR legend Dale Jr. Kelley holds a significant role in Dale Jr.'s racing career as his manager in the sport.

In a recent conversation with Kenny Wallace, Earnhardt Miller talked about her concerns about the charter's worth in the Cup Series. Kelley said [at 1:11:02]:

"They(Cup Series charter) sit on your balance sheet as an appreciating asset, but nobody knows what to pay for them because the business model for running a Cup team is not profitable. I can't tell you that my Cup team will make $2 million every year and there's a value in that."

Earnhardt Miller claims to like the charter as an asset but believes that it guarantees no value as it is tied to a seven-year contract. According to her, charters are "essentially worth nothing" as the NASCAR community awaits the new proposed charter agreement.

"My problem with it is that it's not about the value of the charter. I don't want to pay $30 million for something that I have no clue how to measure its worth. None. I don't want to pay $30 million for something, and then have to spend $20 million more to run my race team without any guarantee of making a profit." Kelley said [at 1:12:30].