Judge Halts Sale of Rick Ware’s NASCAR Team
A North Carolina judge issued a preliminary injunction preventing Rick Ware from selling his NASCAR team, Legacy Motor Club, amid a legal dispute over one of its participation permits.
The situation arises after a prior agreement between Legacy Motor Club and Rick Ware Racing, where Ware agreed to sell one of his two Cup Series charters to Legacy. These charters, similar to franchises, guarantee entry to all NASCAR races and determine the distribution of revenue for the teams.
Jimmie Johnson, owner of Legacy and seven-time NASCAR champion, was looking to acquire the permit to expand his team. A price of $45 million was agreed upon for the acquisition of one of Ware’s permits.
Ware, who currently uses one of the charters for his own team and has another leased to RFK Racing for 2025, had already agreed to a charter swap with RFK for 2026. Ware argued that, due to this agreement, the deal with Legacy would be finalized in 2027.
Legacy filed a lawsuit, alleging that Ware signed a contract for the sale in 2026, which would leave him without options, as he had already promised a permit to RFK. Meanwhile, Ware reached an agreement with the intermediary who negotiated the deal with Legacy to sell him all his NASCAR equipment for $150 million.
Judge Clifton Smith of Mecklenburg Superior Court issued the court order preventing Ware from selling his organization to T.J. Puchyr, co-founder of Spire Motorsports and now a motorsports consultant. Puchyr was the intermediary in the disputed permit sale agreement.
The court order extends a previous temporary restraining order and establishes that Legacy demonstrated the likelihood of success in its case, that it could suffer irreparable harm without the order, and that the potential harm to Legacy outweighs any harm to Ware. The $5 million bond filed by Legacy is maintained.
The trial is scheduled for January. In addition, Legacy has filed a second lawsuit against Puchyr for interfering with the Ware deal and has terminated its consulting agreement with Puchyr.
