Judge cautions Rick Ware Racing to pump brakes on looming charter sale

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (CN) —  A Charlotte judge weighed concerns Monday that Rick Ware Racing may sell charter agreements while in the middle of a legal case over their ownership.

There could be “really serious ramifications,” Superior Court Judge Daniel A. Kuehnert warned, if Rick Ware Racing sells its two charter agreements after having told the court it had no plan to do so. A previous judge in the case decided not to issue an order preventing Rick Ware Racing from selling or transferring the charters based on their representations that they would be static during legal proceedings.

Legacy Motor Club sued Rick Ware Racing in April, claiming it backed out of the sale of a charter agreement after the contract was signed. Rick Ware has contested the suit, filing counterclaims accusing Legacy of trying to get its hands on a different racing agreement than the one that was sold. In legal filings, Rick Ware Racing has also been adamant that it would never have sold the charter to Legacy that it claims it purchased because doing so would have prevented it from being able to race, and owner Rick Ware has no intention of selling the business.

But Rick Ware reportedly agreed last month to sell the company to T.J. Puchyr, one of the founders of Spire Motorsports who helped to negotiate the charter sale between Rick Ware Racing and Legacy.

He isn’t afraid of holding counsel in contempt, Kuehnert said, ordering Rick Ware Racing to comply with a deposition over its rumored sale. Counsel for Legacy raised alarms that if a deposition obtaining information about the potential transfer was not held this week, that Rick Ware Racing may expedite the sale of the charters before Legacy gets a chance to prevent it from happening.

Puchyr had conversations with Legacy’s sponsors about the potential purchase over the weekend, Keith Forst, counsel for Legacy, said Monday. Legacy is owned by seven-time NASCAR champion and Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson.

“To the extent that Rick Ware Racing is right now behind the scenes trying to cut another deal is really troubling and potentially giving rise to additional claims,” Forst said. Counsel for Rick Ware has not disclosed any information about the sale, Forst said — information which is necessary should Legacy need to act and ask for the court to block the charters from being handed off to a third party.

The parties disagree over which charter was sold, but do not disagree that one was sold, Forst said, which makes it concerning that it appears the charters may be slipping away from reach. The whole point of the case is to determine if one of the charters is going to change hands, and if so, Legacy becomes the rightful owner of that charter, Forst said.

This sale is in conflict with owner Rick Ware’s statements and counsel’s arguments, Legacy arguedin filings. Based on the sale announcement, it appears the purchase may transfer both of Rick Ware Racing’s charters and cause the team to cease to exist, it said, which is directly contrary to Rick Ware’s representations to the court.

“The deal Mr. Puchyr announced has potentially case-ending implications,” Legacy said in a filing opposing Rick Ware’s request for a protective order. “Depending on the precise terms of the deal, Legacy could be left without the ability to purchase either of the charters that counsel had represented would be available to it just a few weeks ago in defeating the motion for preliminary injunction. Based on the announcement, it appears RWR’s charters will be transferred to an individual who has publicly declared that Legacy will not receive either one.”

Legacy wants a company representative to cooperate with a short deposition on the sale, so it can determine if it needs to file for emergency release “lest Mr. Puchyr’s deal moot the case entirely.”

Rick Ware Racing, which filed a motion for a protective order to combat Legacy’s request for a rapid deposition, said in its motion that Legacy is trying to push to produce documents in an “unreasonably” short period of time. Conducting depositions in piecemeal fashion is “unreasonable, impractical, inefficient and unduly burdensome,” it said.

Brian Rowlson, counsel for Rick Ware Racing, said it wasn’t opposed to a deposition, but would have to prepare clients for testimony multiple times. Legacy only served discovery requests in late June, he said, and it is burdensome for the company to compile extensive documents on short notice. Rowlson asked that the deposition be pushed to the final week of July.

Kuehnert wasn’t swayed by that argument.

“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,” Kuehnert said. “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.”

It is important to get at the facts, Kuehnert said, and the fastest way to do that is through the deposition.

Trial in the case is scheduled for January 2026.

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