MOORESVILLE, N.C. – In a joint announcement Friday, Matt Tifft and B.J. McLeod confirmed they have acquired Archie St. Hilaire’s ownership interest in the Circle Sport Racing charter controlled by Virginia businessman and former NASCAR Cup Series team owner Joe Falk.
The duo will operate the charter alongside Falk in the Cup Series starting next year.
Tifft and McLeod released a statement on social media confirming the news and noting their excitement about the new opportunity.
“We’re thrilled to announce that we have obtained Archie St. Hilaire’s ownership interest of Circle Sport Racing’s charter. NASCAR’s new business model that will come to fruition in 2022 with the NextGen car makes our vision possible,” read Tifft and McLeod’s statement.
“We are committed to being a staple in the sport for many years to come. There are more details to release, and we’ll announce all of them in the near future. Thanks for everyone’s support and we are looking forward to starting this new venture in 2021.”
Tifft returns to the sport for the first time since being sidelined from driving in the NASCAR Cup Series in October of 2019 due to a seizure suffered just before practice for the Martinsville (Va.) Speedway playoff race weekend.
Next year will mark Tifft’s first time venturing into an ownership or management role at NASCAR’s top level.
McLeod, meanwhile, has operated a full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series team since 2016. His B.J. McLeod Motorsports squad has also raced part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series this year.
In five years as a NASCAR team owner, McLeod has earned one top-five and three top-10 finishes, all at either Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway or Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
The most recent of those top 10s came with driver Matt Mills, a 10th-place effort in July of 2019 at Daytona. David Starr has the team’s best career finish, a fifth in 2017 at Daytona.
Details on the team’s car number, manufacturer affiliation, driver and sponsor were not announced Friday. All of those will be shared at a later time, according to Tifft and McLeod.