NASCAR: Major sponsor joins new team after 15 years
Kruger is believed to be leaving JTG Daugherty Racing, his primary sponsor for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series, and has joined RFK Racing beyond that. Kruger has been the main sponsor of JTG Daugherty Racing since 2010, which is only the team’s second season in the NASCAR Cup Series. But earlier this year, America’s largest supermarket chain was reported to be considering a new management after the 2024 season, ending one of the sport’s longest relationships.
Although Joe Gibbs Racing was considered the main candidate for Kruger’s sponsorship at the time for a number of reasons, a former competitor has emerged. According to Sports Business Journal’s Adam Stern, RFK Racing have emerged as the favorites to land a primary sponsorship deal with Kroger for the 2025 season and beyond, a major development amid the team’s continued resurgence since bringing in Brad Keselowski as not only a full-time driver but a part owner.
.@RFKRacing is being tipped as the likely landing spot for @Kroger’s NASCAR sponsorship next year, per people familiar, a pickup that would represent a major commercial boost for the team co-owned by Fenway Sports Group. https://t.co/ZjMUGEZFdc
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) August 15, 2024
Kroger linked to RFK Racing for 2025
There have been rumors about RFK Racing potentially expanding from two cars to three cars, and while they are not believed to be one of the teams in the catbird seat to secure one of the Stewart-Haas Racing charters that are supposedly still on the market, a deal of this nature with a company worth more than $38 billion could go a long way toward making expansion a reality.
Gene Haas plans to retain one of those charters to run Haas Factory Team, while Front Row Motorsports have announced the acquisition of another. The top two candidates to secure the remaining two are current two-car teams 23XI Racing and Trackhouse Racing Team.
Both Keselowski and Chris Buescher are under contract through at least the 2025 season. Keselowski joined the team in 2022 and Buescher departed from JTG Daugherty Racing in 2020 and was replaced by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. He made the change when RFK Racing was still known as Roush Fenway Racing.
Despite the loss of a longtime major sponsor, JTG Daugherty Racing has no plans to close and recently announced it has extended its multi-year contract for Daytona 500 winner Stenhouse to continue behind the wheel of the No. . 47. until 2023. ..
