NASCAR charter sales prices revealed in latest lawsuit document dump

The price of charter sales in the NASCAR Cup Series is no longer a closely guarded secret.

A full transaction history of charter sales was included in the most recent documents unsealed in the NASCAR antitrust lawsuit. It comes ahead of the Dec. 1 trial date.

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NASCAR introduced charters in 2016, which are similar to franchises and guarantee Cup Series teams automatic entry into an event. A charter holder is also guaranteed a portion of the prize money, which is significantly larger than that for competitors without a charter.

Live Fast Motorsports sold its charter for $40 million in 2024, the highest price ever paid for an individual charter. Stewart-Haas Racing sold three charters for a combined $84 million.

Those numbers are a long way from the $1,250,000 to $3,250,000 that Michael Waltrip Racing reported receiving for its two charters in 2016. However, multiple transactions lacked a reported amount.

Here is the full charter transaction history as released in the unsealed exhibits (zoom in for easier viewing):

NASCAR released 36 charters when the system was introduced in 2016. At the time, they were awarded to teams that had shown commitment to the sport by competing full-time for the previous three years.