On Monday morning, Hendrick Motorsports confirmed that the team has parted ways with longtime sponsorship partner Hooters. In a statement from the team, which was obtained by and shared by Kelly Crandall on X, Hendrick Motorsports says the partnership came to an end due to Hooters not meeting its business obligations to the race team in recent months.
“Hooters has been a valued partner of Hendrick Motorsports since 2017, contributing to our shared successes both on and off the track. In recent months, however, Hooters has not been able to meet its business obligations to our organization,” The statement read. “Due to these unfortunate and unexpected circumstances, and despite extensive efforts on both sides to identify a workable solution, it became necessary for Hendrick Motorsports to end the relationship. It has been a privilege having Hooters as a part of our team and we wish them the best.”
Hooters was slated to be a three-race primary sponsorship partner for Chase Elliott during the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, two of which have already occurred (Atlanta Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway). Elliott won with Hooters as his primary sponsor at Texas Motor Speedway, which marked the company’s first NASCAR Cup Series race win since the 1992 season with Alan Kulwicki.
Hooters was scheduled to return for its third and final race of primary sponsorship for Elliott at Richmond Raceway in the fall.
Speculation about Hendrick Motorsports’ partnership with Chase Elliott and the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports team ran rampant on social media this weekend as the Hooters logo was not featured as an associate sponsor of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 this weekend at Nashville Superspeedway, and the company had been removed from the partners page on the Hendrick Motorsports website.
On June 25, Hooters announced the closure of dozens of its locations in the United States, and the company cited current economic climate and rising operational costs as the reasoning.
“Like many restaurants under pressure from current market conditions, Hooters has made the difficult decision to close a select number of underperforming stores,” the company said in a statement.
It appears the company will look to cut its costs in the sponsorship space as well, and the partnership that it had in place with Hendrick Motorsports since the 2017 season is officially no more.
