A lot of drivers dream of making it big in NASCAR, but it’s a dream that comes at a cost. While it’s often pursued for all the glamor and fame it offers, sustaining that life needs a lot of work. As Dale Earnhardt Jr and BJ McLeod sat to chat on his podcast this week, their conversation raised an important question – How many are truly willing to go that far?

Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the grind behind NASCAR fame

During their conversation on the Dale Jr Download, Junior told McLeod he noticed a particular practice of the latter in the garage, where he would often go to other teams and pick up cracked quarter panels or chipped fenders to work with them. When the Live Fast Motorsports owner jokingly responded that he owes him money for it, Junior instead explained the deeper meaning behind that habit, something that many in the sport don’t have in them.

He said, “You are literally itemizing the entire process of your race team. I felt like that was really profound, because there’s a lot of people that want to be here. There’s a lot of guys that want to race cars in this series, in NASCAR in general. There ain’t that many people that want to do that much work to be there.”

Despite coming from a successful family business, McLeod’s involvement on such a deeper level shows the kind of dedication he has for the sport. As Junior pointed out, a lot of people and teams want that status that NASCAR gives them, but very few are willing to do the actual exhausting work that’s needed to stay there.

He added, “I was really, really impressed with you, cause it didn’t seem like you had to do it. You created a business that was successful, you left it in Florida. Your family had a business, but here you are. Nickel and diming, and shuffling this to make this, add this, put this here. You’re itemizing, like literally going to get a quarter panel that one of your cars needs or can use. I was really, really impressed by that.”

He further went on to compare McLeod to “Dave Marcis of NASCAR.” Marcis was known for running his own underfunded teams, where he often drove for himself and managed his operations with very limited resources.

How has McLeod’s team performed in 2026?

BJ McLeod has been part of the NASCAR Cup Series for several years, mainly as a part-time driver and team owner for his team Live Fast Motorsports. Though he has recorded only two top-10 finishes in the Cup Series so far, most of that has come with underfunded equipment.

This year, McLeod has only competed in two races so far, the Daytona 500 and the AutoTrader 400. On both occasions, he was near the back, finishing 41st and 35th respectively. The organization is only running on a part-time basis, so the #78 Ford car won’t be seen on track for a little while yet.

Previously, the organization ran full-time until 2023, and after that, McLeod sold his charter to Spire Motorsports. Since then, the driver has insisted that he does not regret anything, because the sale earned him $40 million.

“It was never hesitation. Making that transaction made sure that we were always successful in racing as a business. Everybody’s intention when we bought the charter, we totally believe in 100 million plus at some point. We did and always have. And I actually think it’s here right now.”

The team’s actual best finish was when McLeod finished in an impressive 7th place at the Coke Zero Sugar 400 in 2022. That was the organization’s second top 10 finish in its entire career, after a 9th place in 2021, again at Daytona.