NASCAR

History of Wendy’s as a NASCAR Sponsor: Details About Past Deals and Drivers

Srijan Mandal
|Published Jan 17, 2024 03:30PM UTC

Over the years NASCAR sponsors and the special paint job cars become an iconic symbol in NASCAR. But while brands like NAPA auto parts and Interstate Batteries have a long history in the sport and are a recurring theme on cars across the season, not every other brand is blessed that way. There is one brand that was able to finally find its footing in NASCAR after appearing initially back in the 80s and that’s Wendy’s.

That’s right; the first time Wendy’s appeared in NASCAR was back in 1984 but that was in the Busch Grand National Series (Xfinity) that too for a small amount of time. After that, they came back on the Xfinity scene with Noah Gragson for his Talladega run back in 2022. When Gragson moved to the Cup Series with Legacy Motor Club, the fast food brand followed him to the top division taking on the primary sponsor role.

Even when Gragson arrived in Chicago for the inaugural street race, the brand left no stone unturned to remind people of their presence when they dressed the former LMC driver with an outfit flaunting a bacon all-over print. But their journey with Gragson was a short-lived affair since he was suspended from the sport following a social media controversy.

Wendy’s to continue in NASCAR with another team in the 2024 season

Despite the setback, Wendy’s decided to partner up with another team on the grid for the 2024 season working their paint schemes across multiple racing series and races. The team in question is the Ross Chastain, Daniel Suarez, and Shane van Gisbergen (Xfinity) starer Trackhouse Racing.

The deal will allow the brand to join Trackhouse Racing as an associate partner throughout the season for the three Cup Series entries. Additionally, they will also become the primary marketing partner for a couple of events with the first involving SVG at Talladega Superspeedway.

Aside from their Cup Series deal, Wendy’s will also feature in the Xfinity Series on two occasions once for Suarez and once for van Gisbergen in the #97 Kaulig Racing car. If everything goes well for them this time around, this could be considered a fresh start towards something great for the Wendy’s brand in their NASCAR sponsorship future.

Post Edited By:Ankit Sharma

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About the author

Srijan Mandal

Srijan Mandal is a Senior NASCAR Analyst at The Sportsrush with a wealth of experience and expertise in the world of motorsports. With several thousand articles under his belt over the years, he has established himself as a leading authority on all things racing. His passion for motorsports started at a young age, and he has dedicated his career to covering the sport in all its forms. He is an expert in various disciplines, including stock car racing, American motorsports, Formula 1, IndyCar, NHRA, MotoGP, WRC, WEC, and several more. But Srijan's love for racing goes beyond his writing. He actively competes in professional open-wheel simulation racing, using the number 88 as his racing number. While he mostly participates in GT Endurance classes, he also ventures into Stock Car racing from time to time. In case, you wish to contact Srijan, kindly send an email to him at srijan.mandal@sportsrush.com or just DM him on Twitter.