One year removed from the unexpected opportunity to sell the Live Fast Motorsports charter, B.J. McLeod still considers it a great business decision.
“[I’m] very happy with the decision,” McLeod told RACER. “If I had to say one way or the other, I’m happier now than I was a year ago. That decision is something I’ll always be thankful we had the opportunity (to do) and proud we went in that direction.”
McLeod and co-owner Matt Tifft sold the charter to Spire Motorsports. In doing so, the organization chose to go from a full-time operation to competing on a limited basis, primarily on superspeedways. McLeod made five starts in 2024 (plus two for Carl Long’s team) in the Cup Series and four (plus one for Long) in the Xfinity Series.
“Not being at the track every week is hard for (wife) Jessica and I because the NASCAR family is our family,” McLeod said. “We miss seeing the people. We were in this thing for 14 years, and a lot of that was full-time seasons. So it was difficult when we only went 12 times this year. It’s tough because those are the people you’re used to being around, even though you’re competing and sometimes you don’t get along. It’s like a family.
“We miss that side of it, but we have our goals and things we want to do. Just like being strategic from 2010 to 2024 with how we raced, what we were willing to spend and things we’re willing to do, it’s what ultimately got us to the position of selling the charter last year and being in a different position to work toward being a better-performing team at whatever we’re doing. It’s going to take time. We’re going to have to be disciplined and work toward finding the right opportunity to be back in the Truck or Xfinity Series or both as owners. And then continue working on sustaining the Cup side, because we do have good partners who are helping us, and we’re going to keep building on that.”
McLeod has no regrets about buying a charter because he liked the direction the sport was taking. Live Fast Motorsports debuted in 2021, but by the time it was sold in 2023, McLeod acknowledged that the sport was moving at a pace that was leaving his team behind. The organization wasn’t meeting its performance goals, and wasn’t financially strong enough to keep up.
The shift changed McLeod’s original plan to stick around for a couple of decades. The charter wasn’t for sale until it was, as the market value presented an opportunity and plenty of buyers. McLeod had repeatedly been made offers throughout the years.
The business comes first, and McLeod felt they succeeded on that side of the sport by selling the charter when the value was high.
“And then we were looking to turn that around into having fun racing and being more competitive, because we built from nothing,” he said. “We came all the way from your local Saturday night short track races to owning a Cup Series team. It took about 10 years to get from one to the other and that in itself was very successful, and we’re proud of it. But we wanted to prove it was a good business decision to buy the charter and try to build the team even further.”
On the track, Live Fast did not run at the front, but they still feel like they won. The goal remains to run well in the series, which can be done as a competitive open team. In three of his five starts last season, McLeod finished 25th or better.
McLeod did not qualify for the Daytona 500 as he was collected in a crash in his qualifying race, but he felt the team showed the ability to build a fast car without help. He led five laps at Talladega Superspeedway and one lap in the second race at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Talladega.
“We ran on the lead lap at all the races,” McLeod pointed out. “We were in the lead pack at the races and definitely had our best performance race over race that we’ve ever had as a Cup Series team.”
The performance can be tied into McLeod feeling freer and having more fun without a charter. There were no worries about the points, and although the team was never worried about being one of the bottom three charter teams (and run the risk of having NASCAR take the charter back), points did weigh on McLeod & Co.
This year, McLeod was able to go to the racetrack and do what he liked, and race as hard as he wanted. The only concern was performance.
“I think I had forgotten what that’s like,” McLeod said.
Not since 2010 had he won a race and driven without a worry. And that was a super late model race. But those were the days of driving for really good car owners or his parents, all of whom had a ‘don’t worry, we’ll figure it out’ attitude. McLeod raced that way from age 13 through 26 and won over 100 super late model wins and 22 championships.
“Then I go to NASCAR, and I have to be a businessman and a driver,” McLeod said. “Don’t get me wrong, there were a lot of races in that time that I drove as hard as I could, and we got everything we could. But there were also a lot of races that I had to make decisions based on making sure I could cover payroll for the people who take care of us and making sure we were keeping equipment together so we made it through the offseason. There were a lot of things mixed into it.
“When I go to the racetrack now, I don’t worry about anything. It’s been fun to go and drive a Cup car and know that Jessica and I, with all the great people we’ve been surrounded by, put that together.”
Owning a charter or not, McLeod and his team are not going anywhere. Yes, things look different today than he would have anticipated, but the job of competing in NASCAR at the highest level hasn’t changed. As the work to do that to the best of their ability continues, there is someplace else McLeod is finding speed – and sharing it with everyone else.
Be on the lookout for the Pigeon Forge Racing Coaster, which is set to open in Tennessee in the spring of 2025 (weather-dependent). Those who ride will be able to control their speed on the downhill, which means the rider can go as fast as they want. There will be limiters to keep riders from hitting those in front of them.
“But it’s a freefall once you get to the top,” McLeod said. “It’s a really cool concept. Ours is special because it’s the first racing coaster in the U.S. that you can go there with whoever you’d like and get pulled up at the same time, let go, and see who gets to the bottom the quickest. It’s a cool venture.”