Rick Ware Racing will not be able to sell any charters until the end of a legal dispute with Legacy Motor Club.
Judge Clifton H. Smith ruled in favor of Legacy Motor Club on Friday and granted a preliminary injunction. Rick Ware Racing can not sell NASCAR Cup Series Charter No. 27 or NASCAR Cup Series Charter No. 36 to TJ Puchyr or any other interested party.
This preliminary injunction ruling follows the Court granting a temporary restraining order to prevent Rick Ware Racing from selling one or both of its charters. With the preliminary injunction in place, the temporary restraining order no longer applies.
As part of the ruling, the Court directed the Plaintiffs (Legacy Motor Club) to maintain the $5 million bond. These funds will "serve as security for entry of this preliminary injunction, which amount the Court determines in its discretion is reasonable and sufficient to provide security under the circumstances of this case."
Legacy Motor Club and Rick Ware Racing previously agreed to a charter deal that would send one of two charters to the Jimmie Johnson co-owned team. However, a legal dispute surfaced due to the specific charter and due to the timing of the sale.
Rick Ware Racing said in legal documents that it intended to race Charter No. 27 in 2026 and sell Charter No. 36. The team also had 2027 as the transfer date. Legacy Motor Club, which filed a lawsuit against Rick Ware Racing, had listed 2026 as the transfer date.
The situation escalated in mid-July. Puchyr, a former co-owner of Spire Motorsports, said that he intended to purchase Rick Ware Racing and its charters. This was after he helped broker the original deal between the two teams.
Legacy Motor Club filed a lawsuit against Puchyr while saying that he had "intentionally induced RWR to breach its contract with Legacy."
"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 a Charter from RWR," Legacy Motor Club said in a lawsuit filed ahead of the trip to Dover Motor Speedway.
"Mr. Puchyr's conduct is particularly reprehensible given his personal involvement in Legacy's transaction with RWR."