By Caleb Whisler, Staff Writer
The Ross Chastain Cinderella story went south Friday.
Chip Ganassi Racing announced that they would be shutting down their NASCAR Xfinity Series operation for 2019 due to sponsorship issues.
DC Solar was scheduled to sponsor the No. 42 in 2019.
Last month, it was reported that the FBI had raided the of DC Solar CEO Jeff Carpoff and the DC Solar Headquarters. No additional details about the raid have been provided to the public.
“Due to a lack of sponsorship funding we will cease operation of the No. 42 Xfinity team in 2019,” car owner Chip Ganassi said in a statement Friday. “This was a difficult decision for me to make and it comes with much anguish as this is a championship caliber team (having won six races and finished second in the owners championship) and more importantly because it affects a number of good people’s livelihoods. Running a car without proper funding is difficult to do.”
CGR also stated that the move will not affect its Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series operations with Kyle Larson and Kurt Busch.