Chase Elliott’s racing team, Hendrick Motorsports, announced a major sponsorship change Tuesday, unveiling Coca-Cola as the new primary backer of Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet in the upcoming Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway. The change comes after Hendrick Motorsports terminated its contract with Hooters last month, with the company citing business failures.
Hooters has been a partner of Hendrick Motorsports for nearly six years and is recognized for its substantial contributions both on and off the track. Hendrick Motorsports commented in a statement cited by YarkBarker.com: “Hooters has been a valued partner of Hendrick Motorsports since 2017 and has contributed to our shared successes both on and off the track. However, in recent months, Hooters has been absent from the success it has fulfilled its business obligations to our organization.
“Due to these unfortunate and unexpected circumstances, and despite great efforts by both parties to find a workable solution, it has become necessary for Hendrick Motorsports to end the relationship. It has been a privilege to have Hooters as part of our team and we wish them the best.”The timing of the Coca-Cola sponsorship is crucial, as Elliott is just ten points behind Hendrick teammate Kyle Larson at the top of the standings with just four races remaining in the regular season.
Notably, Coca-Cola began its partnership with Elliott and the No. 9 team at the start of the 2023 season. Speaking about the remainder of the season, Elliott noted, as quoted in the same report:
“There’s still a lot of racing to do. That’s kind of how I look at it. A lot can happen in that time. I think it’s going to force all of us to be really good. You’re going to have to be really solid and you’re probably going to need a race or two to win between now and the end to have a legitimate shot without other guys getting in trouble. I don’t really see four or five guys having problems between now and then, not all of them anyway.”
Current 2024 NASCAR Cup Series standings for the Cook Out 400 at Richmond
1.
2. Kyle Larson – 749 points
3. Denny Hamlin – 706 points
4. William Byron – 654 points
5. Christopher Bell – 651 points
6. Ryan Blaney – 676 points
7. Chase Elliott – 739 points
8. Tyler Reddick – 734 points
9. Brad Keselowski – 615 points
10. Alex Bowman – 606 points
11. Joey Logano – 525 points
12. Daniel Suarez – 460 points
13. Austin Cindric – 438 points
14. Martin Truex Jr. – 653 points
15. Ty Gibbs – 587 points
16. Chris Buescher – 562 points
17. Ross Chastain – 552 points
18. Bubba Wallace – 545 points
19. Chase Briscoe – 469 points
20. Kyle Busch – 440 points
21. Todd Gilliland – 434 points
22. Michael McDowell – 404 points
23. Josh Berry – 388 points
24. Noah Gragson – 383 points
25. Carson Hocevar – 383 points
26. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – 375 points
27. Ryan Preece – 329 points
28. Erik Jones – 329 points
29. Corey LaJoie – 324 points
30. Justin Haley – 319 points
31. Daniel Hemric – 316 points
32. John Hunter Nemechek – 307 points
33. Austin Dillon – 294 points
34. Zane Smith – 248 points
35. Harrison Burton – 238 points
36. Kaz Grala – 166 points
37. Cody Ware – 47 points
38. Joey Hand – 43 points
39. Jimmie Johnson – 39 points
40. Derek Kraus – 32 points
41. David Ragan – 17 points
42. Kamui Kobayashi – 8 points
43. Will Brown – 6 points
44. Cam Waters – 2 points
