A Brief History of Recent Sponsor Disputes
What’s Happening? A recent report that King’s Hawaiian could leave RFK Racing has sparked an interest among fans in sponsor conflicts…
On Feb. 26, the Haas Factory Team announced that convenience store chain Road Ranger was a new sponsor of Sheldon Creed’s No. 00 Xfinity Series entry. This move shockingly ended a three-year run as the primary sponsor of Ty Majeski’s ThorSport Racing entry. However, there may be more to this move than meets the eye.
On Tuesday evening, the Road Ranger Facebook account posted photos from what they referred to as a “sponsorship closing meeting” with its former driver, Ty Majeski.
This was odd, as the brand had recently announced a move to the Xfinity Series with the Haas Factory Team and Sheldon Creed. At the time, this move was a natural progression, as occasionally, some sponsors, much like Monster Energy, will test the waters in NASCAR’s lower national series prior to going all out in their sponsorship.
Yet, this post on Facebook conveys sadness about the end of the partnership with Majeski.
When a fan in the comments asked why the brand left ThorSport, Road Ranger’s social media admin revealed that this was not their decision; rather, “ThorSport elected to go with a sponsor with more money and pushed Road Ranger off the truck.”
While justifiable, the move to the Haas Factory Team was odd, as it seemed that at the end of the season, there was no trouble in paradise between the team, sponsor, and driver.
Road Ranger heavily promoted Majeski in advertising both online and in their locations. In turn, Majeski drove his No. 98 with Road Ranger sponsorship to five NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series wins over the past three seasons.
This pairing culminated with a Craftsman Truck Series Championship win last fall, a first for the driver and sponsor. However, when ThorSport rolled into Daytona this spring, Majeski had no sign of the familiar red and blue of Road Ranger on his F-150; rather, the truck sported another returning sponsor.
SodaSense, a tenured sponsor at ThorSport, appears to be replacing Road Ranger. SodaSense is a CO2 distributor for at-home soda machines and has served as an alternate primary sponsor for Majeski and ThorSport since 2023. The brand, located in Wisconsin, Majeski’s home state, has sponsored No. 98 in the first two races of 2025.
Sponsor’s shuffling around teams and divisions is nothing new to NASCAR; for example, King’s Hawaiian moved on from RFK Racing following their acquisition of sponsorship from Kroger this offseason.
While this change was due to a conflict of interest between King’s Hawaiian and one of Kroger’s partners, both situations are great examples of what can cause certain off-season changes to a team’s branding, sponsorship, and sometimes its driver lineup.
For now, it appears that all sides are moving on with their new plans and partnerships. However, fans will not forget Majeski and Road Ranger’s successful run in the Truck Series.
What’s Happening? A recent report that King’s Hawaiian could leave RFK Racing has sparked an interest among fans in sponsor conflicts…
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