NASCAR lawsuit gets even messier as Cup Series team SUE again

There has been yet more legal drama in the NASCAR Cup Series, and this time it has nothing to do with Michael Jordan or 23XI.

Whilst MJ and his team's lawsuit against the stock car racing series might be grabbing a lot of headlines right now, 23XI's legal battle is not the only one currently ongoing.

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Back in April, it was revealed that Legacy Motor Club, the Cup Series team owned by seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson, were suing Rick Ware Racing (RWR) over a disagreement regarding the sale of an RWR charter, the main issue reportedly being that RWR wanted to sell in 2027, and Legacy wanted to buy in 2026.

“Despite having a binding deal in place, RWR wants to back out,” the lawsuit read, via The Athletic.

“It [RWR] has told Legacy that it will not, under any circumstances, close the parties’ transaction. Legacy has tried to talk sense into RWR, to no avail. Legacy’s patience has run out. It now brings this suit to enforce its rights and hold RWR to its deal.”

Subsequently, RWR filed a countersuit against Legacy in which they claimed that when they were approached over the sale of their charter, they made it clear this would only be for sale from 2027.

“Should RWR be forced to sell Charter No. 27 for 2026, it would have no charter under which to race and would go out of business. For this reason, RWR would never have agreed (and unequivocally did not agree) to sell Charter No. 27 in advance of the 2026 season,” Rick Ware Racing said in their filing.

READ MORE: Denny Hamlin hit with NASCAR penalty as four Cup Series drivers guilty of same offence

What has happened between Legacy and RWR since then?

The matter got even more complicated last month when it was revealed in late June that RWR had agreed to sell the team (and its charters) to Spire Motorsports founder TJ Puchyr, who is looking form a new, three-car organization.

Earlier this week, a judge warned RWR that they could face 'serious' consequences if they tried to sell having previously told the court they would do no such thing, and also stated: "If Mr. Puchyr is saying in public that Charter 27 and 36 have been sold or are in the process of being sold, that’s a big deal,”

“Especially when there's been representations made to the court that there's no way this stuff is going to be sold. That’s very troubling, I think to any judge.”

Now, in the latest legal twist, Legacy have sued Puchyr himself, with the team revealing that the former team owner had actually been working with Legacy as an 'Independent Contractor' through his consulting firm Rucus and that he helped broker the initial deal between Legacy and RWR.

Legacy's court filing this week read: "Mr. Puchyr has betrayed Legacy's trust. Among other things, Mr. Puchyr has embarked on campaign to interfere with Legacy's pending transaction to purchase NASCAR Cup Series Charter from RWR that is the subject of separate lawsuit in this Court."

"Not only has Mr. Puchyr apparently worked behind the scenes to upend Legacy's deal with RWR, he has openly and proudly boasted about his malfeasance, criticizing Legacy and its principals, while touting his underhanded attempt to strip Legacy of its bargained-for right to Charter from RWR."

In their suit, Legacy goes on to argue that Puchyr's conduct is 'particularly reprehensible' given his involvement in the deal between Legacy and RWR, and also slates Puchyr for what they call 'personal attacks' against Jimmie Johnson.

READ MORE: Michael Jordan-owned 23XI attempt to save Cup Series status as 'immediate' sale prepared

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