T.J. Puchyr Returns to NASCAR with the Purchase of Rick Ware’s Team
One of the founders of Spire Motorsports has reached an agreement to acquire the NASCAR team owned by Rick Ware, marking his return to the stock car series. Puchyr, who co-founded Spire in 2018, firmly believes that the current charters are undervalued. T.J. Puchyr explained that he has reached an agreement with Rick Ware Racing to take control of the organization next season. This decision comes after the charter market, which are essentially NASCAR franchises, was practically inactive. In the past, Puchyr and Jeff Dickerson acquired a Furniture Row Racing charter for $6 million, which revitalized the market. The most recent charters, sold after the closure of Stewart-Haas Racing, reached $30 million. Puchyr and Dickerson are recognized for driving the value of this system. Puchyr sold his shares of Spire to Dan Towriss, CEO of TWG Motorsports. During 2025, he has been advising several teams, including RWR and Legacy Motor Club. He has closely followed the market and attended court hearings related to the antitrust lawsuit filed by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports. Currently, there are only 36 charters in the Cup Series, guaranteeing teams entry into each race and a steady flow of income. Puchyr believes they are undervalued. In one of his latest operations with Spire, he helped acquire a charter from Live Fast Motorsports for $40 million.In the agreement with Ware, Puchyr will keep Ware as a partner, Cody Ware in the number 51 car, and retain all current RWR employees. Ware’s second charter is leased to RFK Racing, but Legacy Motor Club claimed an agreement to purchase that charter. A judge disagreed, establishing that Ware has a lease agreement with RFK for 2026. Puchyr believes that neither party will be able to fulfill the Legacy-RWR contract. Both Puchyr and Ware are confident that the second charter leased to RFK will return to their team in 2027, allowing Puchyr to expand the organization. Their goal is to acquire a third charter to turn the team into a three-car structure by 2027. Ware has made the second-highest number of charter transactions in the industry. Puchyr intends to help Ware rebuild its organization and achieve victories with his son as a pilot.“I am excited about the idea of building a three-car team. I believe in the France family and the direction of the sport, and I want the rest of the shareholders and the industry to know that I believe the charters are worth $75 million or more,” Puchyr stated.
T.J. Puchyr
Puchyr did not disclose the amount paid by the Ware organization, which currently only has the charter for Cody Ware’s car. Once they regain the leased charter from RFK in 2027, the team will have at least two cars, with the focus on acquiring a third.“I have been successful in everything I have done and I believe we can compete with these guys. I think we can build this brick by brick, and it will take people, money and time. It is not lost on me that RWR is the car in 36th place, we all see it. But I think we can turn this into a competitive, even winning organization. And I think we can value these charters for their true value,” Puchyr commented.
T.J. Puchyr
