Dale Earnhardt Jr. Warns Teams Chasing Investors: ‘No Longer Entirely Yours to Control’

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. said NASCAR teams looking for outside investors should know they are giving up some control of their race teams.

Earnhardt, a co-owner of JR Motorsports, made the comments on a Dirty Mo Media show this week.

Earnhardt: ‘You lose a little bit of control’

“I mean, there are all these teams talking about wanting investors. That’s wild to me. Bringing in investors means you lose a little bit of control,” Earnhardt said.

“Those investors are going to want results. They’re going to want control, and they’re going to want to know what’s going on,” he said. “The team you once pulled all the strings on is no longer entirely yours to control.”

The Keselowski example

The comments came days after Brad Keselowski agreed to give up his role running RFK Racing and stay on only as a passive investor, as Pit This Time reported. Keselowski’s bid to buy the team outright was turned down by co-owners Jack Roush and Fenway Sports Group, and he has said he will sell his 20% stake.

Keselowski has said the split was not adversarial, but it showed how partners can have different ideas about how a team should run.

Money flowing into NASCAR

Several Cup teams have brought in outside investment in recent years. Legacy Motor Club, run by Jimmie Johnson, added members to its ownership group this week, and Johnson has said investment has diluted his original stake, though he keeps control of the company.

Charters became permanent after NASCAR settled the antitrust lawsuit brought by 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, which made Cup teams more attractive to investors.

Patience required

Earnhardt said racing programs need time, and investors may not have it. He made the same point about Dodge’s return with Kaulig Racing, pointing to how long it took Toyota to win after it arrived.

“I don’t expect it to go well right out of the gate. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing,” Earnhardt said. “I just think when Toyota came in, they didn’t succeed right away.”

The Cup Series season ends Sunday, November 8, at Homestead-Miami Speedway.