Judicial Decision Halts the Sale of Rick Ware’s NASCAR Team
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A North Carolina judge issued a preliminary injunction on Friday in favor of Legacy Motor Club, preventing Rick Ware from selling his NASCAR team. The decision comes amid a legal dispute related to one of the team’s participation permits (charters).
At the beginning of this year, Legacy and Rick Ware Racing agreed that Ware would sell one of its two Cup Series charters to Legacy. These charters are essential for participation in NASCAR races, guaranteeing entry into the 38 annual races and determining the distribution of revenue for the teams.
Jimmie Johnson, seven-time NASCAR champion and Legacy owner, was looking to acquire the charter to expand his team. A payment of $45 million had been agreed upon with Ware for one of his charters.
Ware, who currently uses one of its charters for its own team and has another leased to RFK Racing for 2025, already had an agreement with RFK to exchange charters in 2026. Ware argued that, due to this existing agreement, it agreed to sell a charter to Legacy in 2027.
Legacy filed a lawsuit, alleging that Ware signed a contract for a sale in 2026, which would effectively put him out of business, given his prior commitment to RFK. Meanwhile, Ware reached an agreement with the intermediary who negotiated the charter deal with Legacy for the latter to buy all of his NASCAR equipment for $150 million.
Judge Clifton Smith of Mecklenburg Superior Court ruled in favor of Legacy, preventing the sale of the organization to T.J. Puchyr, co-founder of Spire Motorsports and now a motorsports consultant. Puchyr was the intermediary in the disputed charter sale agreement.
Judge Smith’s order extended a previous temporary restraining order. Smith determined that Legacy demonstrated a high probability of success in its case, that it would suffer irreparable losses without the court order, and that the potential harm to Legacy outweighed any potential harm to Ware.
The trial is scheduled for January, but Legacy has filed a second lawsuit against Puchyr for interfering with its agreement with Ware. Legacy has also terminated its consulting agreement with Puchyr.
