James Finch is leaving NASCAR but that does not mean the No. 51 team is closing down shop.
On Thursday Finch said he expects to announce the sale of Phoenix Racing on July 15. While Finch declined to identify who was buying the team he did say that he was “somebody who’s got money.”
“I’m in negotiations with an individual to buy the team, and if he does that I’ll let him finish out the year,” Finch said, via the News Herald. “He’s a qualified buyer, so hopefully we can make everything work.”
Money and sponsorship dollars have proved to be Finch’s crutch at the Sprint Cup level. Finch said earlier this year that the costs for running a team were too much and that he would run though the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 28 and then close down his team.
During Finch’s time as a car owner he oversaw 13 victories in the Nationwide Series and one Sprint Cup victory which came with Brad Keselowski at the wheel.
Finch will not completely fade into the background when the new owner takes over.
“I’ll help (the new owner) get started and stuff like that. I’ll go attend some races a little bit, but I’ll be out of ownership. I might run a few Nationwide races out of his shop, go play or something. But full time is over for me.”
Austin Dillon will drive the No. 51 Chevrolet at Kentucky Speedway. Either Regan Smith or A.J. Allmendinger will drive the car at Daytona next weekend for the Coke Zero 400.
ESPN has reported that the prospective owner is Harry Scott Jr., who is part owner of Turner Scott Motorsports.
