HScott Motorsports unsure of 2017 plans
The two-car HScott Motorsports outfit, which Scott purchased and renamed from Phoenix Racing in '13, will lose the primary sponsor of its #15 Chevy, 5-Hour Energy, and driver Clint Bowyer after this season as part of a pre-set move for Bowyer to replace the retiring Tony Stewart at Stewart-Haas Racing in '17. HSM, whose other primary sponsor is Pilot Flying J, also will lose less prominent sponsors Peak and Visine after this season.
Pilot Flying J's future with the team is unclear; its contract with HSM is year-to-year. HSM was not allowed to pursue renewals with Peak, Visine or 5-Hour due to the terms of its contract with Bowyer, who brought the brands to HSM from the now-defunct Michael Waltrip Racing for '16 only.
Because of the outgoing sponsorship, HSM would likely need to find new sponsorship, or inject private funding, to continue on in its current form. HSM, which also has a presence in NASCAR's regional K&N Series, owns one of NASCAR's 36 charters, the #15, and has for this season leased another one, the #46 from Premium Motorsports.
If HSM were to sell or lease its charter, candidates for it would likely include Furniture Row Racing. FRR has publicly stated its desire to get a charter for the #77 Toyota that it will bring to the series next year as it expands to a two-car operation. [Tuckahoe Strategies President Ramsey] Poston said HSM is currently "in no formal discussions with Furniture Row" over the possible charter sale. While generally agreed upon that it is somewhere in the seven figures, the value of charters is a still-unfolding topic of high interest to industry executives, and any sales of them over the coming months will be watched closely. Sports Business Daily