CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Front Row Motorsports said Wednesday it has purchased a charter that will expand its NASCAR team to three cars in the Cup Series in 2025.
Front Row did not reveal the seller, but the announcement came one day after Stewart-Haas Racing said it was shuttering its four-car Cup Series team at the end of the season. Front Row did not disclose how much it paid for its charter, but Spire Motorsports last year paid $40 million for one.
“We have a very positive outlook on the future of NASCAR and as the sport plans for success, so do we,” Front Row Motorsports owner Bob Jenkins said in a release announcing the move. “Today that means having a plan for expanding back to three cars in the NASCAR Cup Series.”
NASCAR’s charter system guarantees entry into all 36 races each season on its top-tier circuit and thus guarantees revenue from the Cup Series’ television package through participation. There are four “open” spots in the field each week for teams that do not hold charters, and those are being held in case a future manufacturer enters the stock car series. Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota currently field cars in the series.
Current charters expire at the end of this season, and teams have been in a bitter dispute with NASCAR over a new agreement. The teams want to make the charters permanent, but NASCAR has refused that request.