"We're not doing anything like that": Kaulig Racing president rubbishes rumors of merger with Trackhouse Racing

Kaulig Racing president Chris Rice has settled the dust on rumors about a potential merger with Trackhouse Racing for the 2025 season.

Trackhouse Racing has four drivers on their roster: Ross Chastain, Daniel Suarez and Zane Smith in the Cup Series, and Shane van Gisbergen for the Xfinity Series. Smith fields #71 Chevy in alliance with Spire Motorsports, whereas SVG tames #97 Chevy through Kaulig Racing. The Concord-based outfit has only two charters for Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez but has four drivers to cater to.

Similarly, Kaulig Racing has four drivers: Daniel Hemric for the Cup Series and AJ Allmendinger, Josh Williams, and Shane van Gisbergen in the Xfinity Series. However, they have two charters, one for AJ and the other for Hemric.

Both teams' scarcity of seats and charters, as well as their current alliance in NASCAR, sparked speculation of a potential merger between the two organizations.

However, according to the Matt Kaulig team president's revelation, the coalition doesn't seem to be happening anytime in the near future.

"We're not merging, we're not doing anything like that. We are very close to Trackhouse and will be close to Trackhouse for a while, but we're also close to RCR [Richard Childress Racing with whom Kaulig Racing share techincal alliance]," Rice said (via SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on X)

"We don't have a charter agreement done right now, so I think we need to focus on that and then we'll focus on where Kaulig Racing's going what can we do," he added.

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Chris Rice speaks on when fans can see a true picture of Kaulig Racing's 2025 plans

With impending charter renewal creating high instability among teams, Kaulig Racing president Chris Rice believes a true picture of their plans would be visible after the negotiations settle.

The charter system was introduced in 2016 as the agreement between NASCAR and Race Team Alliance came to fruition. Under this system, the cars were guaranteed an entry in all Cup Series races and subsequently a defined portion from the prize purse.

The Charter system was extended in the early 2020 season till the end of the current season. However, per the recent updates, it doesn't seem like NASCAR is inclined to give it a permanent status.

Chief Operating Officer Jim France expressed his reluctance with the view of permanent charters being a "non-starter."

Amid the unsettling charter drama in the paddock, Chris Rice gave a timeline regarding when a clear picture of their 2025 plans will surface.

"I wish I could’ve told you yesterday, but, the next 30 days is a big, big time for us," Rice said (via The Daily Down Force).

"I think in the next 30 days, everybody will have an idea what it looks like and what ’25 looks like for the Cup and Xfinity program…Matt Kaulig’s in it for the long haul with NASCAR, believes in the system. The charter agreement is going to be good once we get it done, so, once we can get all of that done I thing we can finalze what we’re working on," he added.

The teams, in cooperation with Race Team Alliance, are pushing NASCAR to give permanent status to the charter system to guarantee entry and have an influx of investments.