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NASCAR Silly Season was kicked off on Monday by a bombshell report by Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal. According to Stern Kroger could be on the move to another Cup Series team along with JTG-Daugherty Racing co-owner Tad Geshickter, with Joe Gibbs Racing being the rumored destination. This is why nabbing Kroger would be a big win for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Joe Gibbs Racing has quietly lost some major sponsorship in recent years. Denny Hamlin used to have FedEx on the car for virtually the entire season, but, they have only adorned the No. 11 car for 3 of the first 10 races of 2024. Hamlin is also one of the oldest drivers on the grid, so, he may not stay at JGR for too much longer.
They are also in danger of losing a significant amount of funding from Martin Truex Jr. should he retire. He brought funding from Auto-Owners Insurance and Bass Pro Shops to JGR from Front Row Motorsports. One of the pair has been a primary sponsor for Truex Jr. in 9 of the first 10 races of 2024.
That’s not to say JGR is in desperation mode. Companies like Monster Energy with Ty Gibbs, DeWalt and Rheem with Christopher Bell, Mavis with Denny Hamlin, and Interstate Batteries or Reser’s or Yahoo! with multiple drivers fill out the sponsor lineup for JGR. They’re also the flagship Toyota team, which makes for both an easy sales pitch and help from Toyota.
However, sponsors are still a necessity for any race team, and potentially taking most of the funding away from an entire chartered entry is a big loss no matter who the team is. This is where Kroger could be a major get for the team.
Kroger is one of the few companies that sponsor a race team for the majority of a season. So far in 2024, Kroger-related brands have sponsored the JTG-Daugherty No. 47 car in all 10 races. If Kroger joins JGR, that likely takes care of at least one car worth of funding.
They could choose to go the Legacy Motor Club route as well. LMC brought in Family Dollar and Dollar Tree this offseason, and they split time between Erik Jones and Jonn Hunter Nemechek.
Either way, it brings in a major sponsor as JGR is losing sponsorships. They also have Chandler Smith in the pipeline, who has a solid relationship with QuickTie. That sponsorship could fill in some gaps if Smith moves up to Cup.
What Kroger does is give JGR stability as the race team goes through some major potential changes. That’s why they could be courting Kroger to come with.
