The charter from the now defunct No. 78 Furniture Row Racing team has been sold.
North Carolina-based Spire Sports + Entertainment, a marketing agency that represents drivers and sponsors, is the buyer and multiple media sources report the company will field a No. 77 entry. A charter team must compete full-time, and the charter guarantees a starting spot in every Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race.
The team will be co-owned by two of the founders of Spire Jeff Dickerson and T.J. Puchyr according to NBC Sports. The charter’s sale price was not revealed.
When reached for additional details such as driver, manufacturer, team alliance, equipment and where the team would be based, a Spire representative said that would all be worked out in the coming weeks.
The charter from Furniture Row is one of the most valuable in the Cup Series. Part of the revenue from a charter is based on a team’s performance from the previous three years. Furniture Row finished second, first, and 11th in the last three seasons in the championship hunt.
Team owner Barney Visser decided to shut down his operation when sponsorship was not found to replace 5-hour ENERGY, which had been one of the team’s co-primary partners.
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