“Happier now than I was a year ago”: Former owner looks back fondly on exiting NASCAR charter system

Former NASCAR driver Burton Darwin "B. J." McLeod recently looked back at the moment when he sold Live Fast Motorsports to Spire Motorsports late in the 2023 NASCAR season. McLeod outlined that several financial constraints had led to the decision to sell their Cup charter.

Live Fast Motorsports competed full-time in the Cup Series from 2021 through 2023 after purchasing a charter from Go Fas Racing in 2020. Under the ownership of B.J. McLeod and Matt Tift, the team secured no better than P32 in the owner standings in all three of their full-time seasons.

Recently, 41-year-old BJ McLeod reflected on his decision to sell the Live Fast Motorsports charter to Spire Motorsports for a whopping $40 million. McLeod expressed his satisfaction with the decision via an interview with Racer.

“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.”

BJ McLeod then shared how he and his wife Jessica Smith-McLeod miss the high-octane life of competing full-time.

“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." McLeod said

"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. 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." he added

Moreover, the current legal battle between NASCAR and 23XI/FRM on account of the highly disputed charter agreement has changed the landscape of the sport. As such, McLeod's sale of the Live Fast Motorsports charter could not have been timed better.

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23XI Racing and FRM claim NASCAR withdrew the charter transfer

The latest update from the antitrust lawsuit filed by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports against NASCAR suggests that the organization unexpectedly changed the course of their decision to allow both 23XI and FRM to purchase SHR's Charters.

Had the legal battle not ensued between both Cup Series teams and NASCAR, 23XI and FRM were planning on expanding their operations in the sport. However, things have not gone as planned.

Recently, Fox Sports journalist Bob Pockrass shared an update on the antitrust lawsuit.

"23XI/FRM filing today says nothing filed Thursday breaks procedure as they had no reason to suspect NASCAR would “abruptly reverse course and reject the SHR transfer” of charters. They say it is intimately related to injunction request & issue was part of NASCAR earlier response." Pockrass wrote

Meanwhile, despite not having charters, 23XI Racing has announced Riley Herbst as their third driver for the 2025 season, piloting the #35 Toyota Camry XSE. Both FRM and 23XI will operate as open entries in 2025.