According to newly unsealed court records, Rick Ware Racing has issued a countersuit against LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, which initially filed a lawsuit against Rick Ware Racing in April for allegedly bailing on a signed deal to sell one of its two NASCAR Cup Series team charters to LEGACY MOTOR CLUB for the 2026 season.
In the filing, Rick Ware Racing explains that it is set to lease Charter No. 36, which is currently being used for Cody Ware’s No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford in 2025, to RFK Racing for the 2026 season. Rick Ware Racing intends to use the No. 27 Charter for its No. 51 entry in 2026, and had planned on selling Charter No. 36 to LEGACY MOTOR CLUB for the 2027 season.
Due to rules within the NASCAR Charter Agreement, RWR is unable to lease the No. 27 Charter for another season during the seven-year Charter agreement, meaning if they were to uphold their two-year Charter lease agreement with RFK Racing, it would have to be with the No. 36 Charter in 2026.
However, Rick Ware Racing claims that LEGACY MOTOR CLUB is seeking the incorrect Charter (No. 27) in its complaint against their organization.
According to the countersuit, an initial sales contract drafted in February contained several errors and had to be reworked. Once re-worked, both parties signed the agreement, which Rick Ware Racing claims was for the sale of Charter No. 36 for the 2027 season. Rick Ware Racing claims LEGACY MOTOR CLUB claimed the incorrect Charter (No. 27) in its initial lawsuit against their organization, and that the Charter would be sold to them for the 2026 season, which RWR contends was not what it had agreed to in the signed contract.
In the counterclaim, Rick Ware Racing says, “Should RWR be forced to sell Charter No. 27 (currently being leased to RFK Racing) 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 is seeking for the court to dismiss LEGACY MOTOR CLUB’s initial complaint, and Rick Ware Racing believes the initial sales contract should be voided as there was no “meeting of the minds” during the contract dispute, and RWR believes that LEGACY MOTOR CLUB has forfeited its right to the No. 36 Charter.
Rick Ware Racing also detailed in the new filing that it has attempted multiple times to return a non-refundable $750,000 deposit payment to LEGACY MOTOR CLUB for the Charter Sale, which was for a total of $45 million, the largest sales price of a NASCAR Cup Series Team Charter since the Charter system was created.
Following the filing of the complaint against Rick Ware Racing in April, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB attempted to receive a preliminary injunction against Rick Ware Racing, which would prevent RWR from making any deals involving the Charter in question. However, that Preliminary Injunction request was denied on April 30.
