Almost a year ago, Tony Stewart stood in front of his Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) crew and said the words no one wanted to hear. After 16 seasons, 69 wins, and two NASCAR Cup championships, the team was shutting down. The news hit like a brick. Stewart, visibly emotional, said the decision wasn’t easy, but it was necessary. “Racing is a labor-intensive, humbling sport. It requires unwavering commitment and vast resources,” he told the team.
“We’ve reached a point where it’s time to pass the torch,” he further added. SHR, once a giant among NASCAR’s elite, was built from scratch by Stewart and Gene Haas. It gave the sports stars like Kevin Harvick and Chase Briscoe. But sponsorship dried up. On-track performance sagged. In the end, they couldn’t keep up. The story sent shockwaves through the NASCAR world. The exit of SHR didn’t just shake the garage, it altered the landscape of NASCAR’s elite.
It trimmed the Big 4 down to a Big 3: Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, and Team Penske. Now, a year later, another major name in stock car racing is stepping away. This time, it’s Venturini Motorsports. And while the team doesn’t run in the Cup Series, its impact runs just as deep. The reasons are different, but the heartache is the same. Financial pressure, long hours, and changing tides in the sport have dismantled another legacy.
Christopher Bell’s former team shuts down!
Venturini Motorsports, the most successful and longest-standing team in ARCA Menards Series history, has confirmed it is shutting down operations. Nitro Motorsports will take over the team on October 15, 2025. Venturini Motorsports announced the sale at Rockingham Speedway, marking an emotional end to its 40-year chapter in American stock car racing. Billy Venturini, who’s been at the helm for the last two decades, will stay on as general manager through 2026 to ease the transition.
“The last 20 years [as owner and general manager] have been very rewarding, but also incredibly demanding. I love what this sport has given to me, but in return, I gave it everything I had. So the time has come to be able to prioritize other things ahead of racing. As a racer, nothing comes before the sport. I understood, I believed, and lived by it. But it’s now time to prepare for my departure,” he said in a statement.
Billy Venturini said he will be general manager for Nitro Motorsports through 2026. https://t.co/zxPaobtLRr
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) April 18, 2025
Notably, the Venturini Motorsports was founded by Billy’s father Bill Venturini Sr. and Cathy Venturini in 1982. Bill Venturini Sr. was a two-time ARCA champion and a pioneer in motorsports. He and his wife also broke barriers by fielding an all-female pit crew in the late 1980s. But the true rise began in 2007 when Billy shifted the team’s focus to driver development.
Since then, Venturini Motorsports has shaped the careers of NASCAR stars like Joey Logano, William Byron, Christopher Bell, Alex Bowman, and Jesse Love. With 107 ARCA victories and several championships, the team was more than just a contender—it was a breeding ground for future NASCAR talent. That legacy was built in partnership with Toyota GAZOO Racing. And luckily, the bond continues even under new ownership. Nitro Motorsports, led by Nick Tucker, will carry on that relationship.
“Billy and I are cut from the same cloth,” said Tucker. “We were born into this sport. Now we carry the torch forward.” Nitro runs across multiple racing series, including go-karts, Trans Am, the Toyota GR Cup, and ARCA. With this acquisition, they now have one of the most complete driver development pipelines in motorsports. Toyota’s Jack Irving called the partnership with VMS “incredible” and praised the team’s passion and professionalism.
“Billy’s commitment to driver development truly embodies what we value at TRD,” he said. The farewell is bittersweet, but the reality behind it is hard to ignore. The cost of racing is breaking even the best. Venturini’s exit comes at a time when NASCAR’s economic health is under the microscope. Running a team has never been more expensive. Sponsorship is harder to come by. The sport’s middle tier is quietly vanishing.
Earlier this month, Mike Harmon Racing (MHR) pulled out of the SciAps 300 at Bristol without warning. Fans feared the worst—a shutdown. Social media went wild after a cryptic post by the team. Was it another closure in NASCAR? However, MHR later confirmed they weren’t closing, just regrouping. “Any rumors suggesting MHR is closing are false,” the team said. They plan to return for the next race at Rockingham. But even with the denial, doubts linger. In today’s NASCAR, even surviving feels like a win.
RWR faces a lawsuit amid financial struggles!
While developmental teams like Venturini Motorsports are choosing to exit on their own terms, others in the NASCAR Cup Series are finding themselves trapped in legal and financial quicksand. Rick Ware Racing (RWR), a longtime underdog team, now faces a lawsuit from Legacy Motor Club over a failed charter sale that could have brought in crucial financial relief.
Court documents reveal that RWR admitted it was “strapped for cash” and said it couldn’t compete at a Cup Series level without additional funding. That led them to initiate talks with Jimmie Johnson‘s Legacy in early 2025. Both sides reached what they believed was a firm agreement on March 3 to sell one charter for a reported $40 million. The deal was supposed to be RWR’s lifeline.
But shortly after signing, RWR apparently changed its position. The team stated that the agreement covered a 2027 transaction, not 2026, and they refused to close the deal. Legacy saw no other option and took the matter to court. They filed a lawsuit and secured a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO), which blocks RWR from selling or leasing the charter to anyone else until the court resolves the dispute.
RWR responded strongly, calling the lawsuit “a misguided attempt to tarnish our reputation.” The team stated it had negotiated in good faith and that the claims distorted the actual facts. However, until a verdict is reached, RWR’s hands are tied. They can’t make use of the charter, nor can they generate any revenue from it. This legal limbo could prove disastrous. The sale was reportedly a key financial strategy to keep RWR’s other operations alive.
Without that cash influx, the team now fears a shutdown if the lawsuit drags on and no one resolves it quickly—it could mark the beginning of the end for RWR as a full-time Cup team. With one charter already leased to RFK Racing for Ryan Preece’s No. 60 car, and the other used for Cody Ware’s No. 51 entry, RWR doesn’t have much wiggle room. And in a sport where funding equals performance, time is running short.
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