[autotag]JR Motorsports[/autotag] has been one of the teams interested in moving to the NASCAR Cup Series; however, the organization has yet to pull the trigger. Kelley Earnhardt Miller and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have been on the record about their desire to make the jump, but missing out on NASCAR charters at a cheaper price has made it more difficult for them to do so.
On Tuesday, Earnhardt Jr. appeared on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and was asked if JR Motorsports is still interested in entering the Cup Series. As of now, there is no concrete plan or blank checks, which might make a move in 2025 difficult.
“There’s two ways for us to go at JR Motorsports,” Earnhardt said. “Kelley and I could bring in some financial support to acquire charters, and JR Motorsports becomes a [NASCAR Cup Series] team. That’s kinda been the idea in our mind for the last several years. If that’s not in our future, and if that’s not something that me and Kelley both want, there is that opportunity to invest in a current team and invest in a single charter. If I can’t own my own Cup race team and run it as we do, similar to JR Motorsports, my preference might be more to just invest in a single charter, one particular race car where I would have some influence over that actual car on the race track.”
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“There’s no real concrete plan for us right now. We’re not sitting here waiting for some dominos to fall but we always have our ear to the ground for what opportunity might be out there. I’ll say this too. The [NASCAR Xfinity Series] is a very fun place to be. In my heart, I would have a hard time leaving that space and what that might become is exciting as well…If that’s where we belong or that’s where we sorta run this thing out, I’m fine with that as well.”
JR Motorsports would likely need financial support from the outside to acquire a NASCAR charter, but would it be feasible? Earnhardt said he would have a hard time leaving the Xfinity Series, and expressed interest in investing in a single charter in the Cup Series. JR Motorsports will keep looking at the opportunities available, but it doesn’t sound like a team that is heavily preparing for a massive jump.
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