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“They Don’t Give a F**k About the RTA” – NASCAR Underdog Snubs HMS and JGR as They Flaunt Poaching Their Best Spotters

Published 10/03/2023, 8:25 PM EDT

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Spire Motorsports has not been one of the winningest teams in the arena of NASCAR. But with the big and bold moves that team owner Jeff Dickerson is making, Spire is undoubtedly on the headlines of NASCAR news in recent times. Perhaps the biggest tip of the hat came with its recent purchase of the #78 Live Fast Motorsports charter from team owner and NASCAR veteran BJ McLeod.

The money that Dickerson paid for the charter broke every record of purchases made in the history of NASCAR. Moreover, the team is looking forward to owning more. They purchased Kyle Busch Motorsports from Rowdy. It is safe to say, Spire Motorsports is investing a copious number of dollars to expand their prospects. However, charters are not the only thing that they are paying for.

DBC crew member revealed how Spire Motorsports is paying heed to the cause of the spotters

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When a team wins a NASCAR race, the driver receives all the credit. It is the name of the driver that appears on the leaderboard and those stats become indelible forever. But seldom do we acknowledge the role of the heroes that cater to the victory from behind the scenes.

Any stock car racing would have been incomplete without these heroes, better known as spotters. Whenever there is an incident on the track or the driver’s vision is barred due to smoke, it is the spotter that comes to the rescue. Hence, it goes without saying that these unsung heroes need their due respect.

However, RTA has reservations about paying their spotters. But Jeff Dickerson dissed big-shot teams like Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing that hold the mast of the Racing Team Alliance, by putting forth big money to hire three of the top 5 best spotters in the business.

Veteran spotter and TV personality Brett Griffin applauded Dickerson’s move. According to him, the sport should care that the spotters were there to aid the drivers. And Spire Motorsports is doing exactly that.

Griffin said, “They said to me, we want one of the top 5 best spotters in the sport. And they are willing to pay for it. They don’t give a f**k about the RTA,” to which, DBC crew member, and Bubba Wallace‘s spotter Freddie Kraft added, “They wanted three of the top 5 spotters.”

“That’s what they did,” said Griffin. “They put big money in front of them. They didn’t care what the RTA (said).”

Griffin felt like the spotters needed to know how much each of them was making in order to level up their game and price at the same time. Griffin admitted, “There was a lot of times I watched Spire ride around the back and it drove me bananas. That’s not Spire Motorsports anymore.”

Amidst the cold war between spotters and RTA’s rigidity, another tussle has drawn the attention of everyone residing in the alleys of NASCAR. And that includes RTA as well.

Watch this story: A 1959 Tragedy Started From a Cigarette and Almost Ended an Historic Race to a Fiery Pit

RTA and NASCAR don’t seem to get along very well these days

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The Race Team Alliance, or RTA, since its inception in 2014, had just one task in hand; to preserve, promote, and nurture the growth of stock car racing. But amidst all that, it has a bigger interest in their agenda and that is to uphold the interest of the race teams. But recently, there has been some unruliness in the relationship between NASCAR and the RTA.

Some of it occurs from the question of the permanence of the charters. The current charters are about to expire by the end of this year and it’s a burning question whether they would be extended over the course of 2024. To some, it doesn’t make sense to bring a halt to the Charter system with the recent purchases made.

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Moreover, the media deal regarding the Xfinity Series coverage with CW network starts in 2025 and the RTA has still not heard from NASCAR about the advantages that they would receive as far as revenue is concerned. To show their displeasure with NASCAR, team owners boycotted a meeting with the NASCAR executives earlier in April.

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It is true that NASCAR has a lot to lose if they fall into the bad books for the RTA as 60-80% of the organization’s revenues come from the sponsorships that the teams bring in. However, there’s nothing we can do but speculate on how RTA and NASCAR might converge on a mutual point of agreement.

Spire Motorsports Star Brings $6.4-Billion-Worth Non-Profit to Limelight Amid Major Spending Spree

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Written by:

Soumyadeep Saha

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Soumyadeep Saha is a NASCAR Author at EssentiallySports. Holding a Master's degree in English literature from a top-tier university, he has always had a great affinity for writing. In the past couple of years, he has channeled his love and commitment for stock cars into building a career path in the arena of Motorsports Journalism.
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Edited by:

Ranvijay Singh