With halfway through the NASCAR season, the silly season rumors have begun to pick up. And Wood Brothers Racing finds itself in the spotlight. 

Wood Brothers Racing is one of NASCAR’s oldest active teams and has been racing in the series since 1950. The team fielded cars for NASCAR legends such as Kyle Petty, Ricky Rudd, and Cale Yarborough, among several others.

However, in recent years, the team has been struggling to bring in results like in their glory days. And are now facing the rumors of being shut down. The rumors took flight after their driver, Josh Berry, on June 10th, announced that the team and he were parting ways at the end of the 2026 season. 

However, Berry’s exit from the team may not be the end of the team. Instead, it has opened doors for drivers who are currently searching for a seat. According to certain media outlets, Layne Riggs could be in the running, but he has time and again expressed his commitment to developing his skill set at the grassroots level rather than making the big jump to the Cup Series. 

The other name in the running and strongly backed by NASCAR insider Bob Pockrass is Jesse Love. The 2025 O’Reilly has been one of the strongest contenders to get the WBR seat. The 21-year-old has an impressive resume with delivering RCR their first O’Reilly championship last season, and has been putting in spectacular performances, and is currently in second place in the driver's championship. 

Just a few weeks ago, he was also tied to the RCR seat, but that move might not materialize due to the legal sponsorship issues. However, this might be a good opportunity for RFK Racing to capitalize on. 

Rumors about a charter being leased have been circulating in the NASCAR garage. 

And it is a no-brainer that RFK is currently in need of a third charter. Ryan Preece’s No 60 was leased from Rick Ware Racing and will be going to Legacy Motorsports for the 2027 season. Considering that both teams are associated with Ford, RFK might be looking to get the third charter. 

Chip Bowers commits to running three charters in 2027

Currently, RFK Racing runs two permanent charters, which are being piloted by co-owner Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher. The third charter, which was on lease from RWR, has been bought by Legacy Motorsports and will be used in the 2027 season.

This has left Ryan Preece without a car. Despite this, the team president, Chip Bowers, and his team are committed to running three charters in the upcoming season. 

While talking to Jeff Gluck on his Gluckcast podcast, he explained the team's plan to run an open car if they fail to get a charter by the end of the season. 

“We want to purchase a charter. We see great value in the charters, both short and long term. So that’s our number one priority. Short of being able to access one or acquire one, we’ll run open, right? And that’s a decision we’ve already made as an organization. We’ve shared that with our staff.” 

With the Wood Brothers Racing charter possibly being available, the team might look into leasing a third charter from the team. 

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason