Shocking $6B Sponsorship Crisis Rocks Joe Gibbs Racing and Denny Hamlin Alliance
Joe Gibbs Racing Faces Financial Crisis: Sponsorship Deal with Denny Hamlin Takes a Nosedive In a shocking turn of events, Joe Gibbs Racing, worth a staggering $6 billion, is reeling from a major financial setback after their recent partnership with Denny Hamlin took a nosedive. The team, famously backed by FedEx for two decades, was […]
Joe Gibbs Racing Faces Financial Crisis: Sponsorship Deal with Denny Hamlin Takes a Nosedive
In a shocking turn of events, Joe Gibbs Racing, worth a staggering $6 billion, is reeling from a major financial setback after their recent partnership with Denny Hamlin took a nosedive. The team, famously backed by FedEx for two decades, was blindsided when the shipping giant abruptly ended their sponsorship, leaving a gaping hole in their funding.
Desperate to fill the void left by FedEx, Joe Gibbs Racing found temporary relief in a deal with Progressive Insurance, securing sponsorship for the next 18 months. However, their troubles were far from over as they continued to search for a primary sponsor to stabilize their financial standing.
Amidst the chaos, a new glimmer of hope emerged as Joe Gibbs Racing announced a multi-year partnership with Saia Inc. to sponsor Ty Gibbs and the No. 54 Toyota Camry XSE in the NASCAR Cup Series. This strategic move marked a significant shift for the team, replacing their longtime rival FedEx with a new contender in the trucking industry.
Despite initial optimism surrounding the partnership with Saia Inc., disaster struck when the company reported dismal earnings for the first quarter of 2025, causing their stock to plummet by a staggering 32%. The uncertain macroeconomic environment and challenges posed by the U.S. trade war were cited as contributing factors to their financial woes.
Saia Inc.’s President and CEO, Fritz Holzgrefe, attributed the poor performance to the lack of typical shipment growth during the quarter, leading to a significant revenue shortfall. With the financial stability of their primary sponsor called into question, Joe Gibbs Racing now faces a precarious future as their funding hangs in the balance.
The repercussions of this financial crisis could spell disaster for the team, reminiscent of past struggles with sponsorships. Notably, the departure of Kyle Busch following sponsorship woes with M&M and Mars Inc. serves as a cautionary tale of the dire consequences of financial instability in NASCAR.
As Joe Gibbs Racing navigates this turbulent period, all eyes are on the team to see how they will weather the storm and emerge from this crisis. With billions at stake and the future of the team in jeopardy, the coming months will prove to be a make-or-break moment for one of NASCAR’s most iconic franchises.
NASCAR Cup Series results from Texas: Kyle Larson wins stage, finishes fourth
FORT WORTH, Texas – With 12 cautions including seven in the final stage, Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway quickly became a battle for survival. And while ultimately, it wasn’t quite the win it often looked like it would be for Kyle Larson, his No. 5 Valvoline Chevrolet was still intact and rolling when […]
FORT WORTH, Texas – With 12 cautions including seven in the final stage, Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway quickly became a battle for survival.
And while ultimately, it wasn’t quite the win it often looked like it would be for Kyle Larson, his No. 5 Valvoline Chevrolet was still intact and rolling when the checkered flag fell.
Larson won the second stage – his fifth straight race at Texas with a stage victory – and turned in a solid fourth-place finish, scoring 50 points along the way. It was the second straight race in which the 32-year-old scored the most points.
He also led the most laps and was in control of the race through much of stage three. But on lap 244, Michael McDowell got a good jump on a restart and had help from behind, shuffling Larson back to fourth. With three more cautions and restarts, and with track position at a premium all day, Larson wasn’t able to quite make it back to the point.
“You don’t want to give up the lead at a mile-and-a-half (track), it’s hard to get it back,” Larson said. “Michael just did a good job timing it. I left early the restart before and was going to leave early again then and he just anticipated and left probably right with me or barely before and he had (Tyler) Reddick pushing behind him. Wish I could go back and do that all over again. Just try to learn from it.”
William Byron, the Cup Series points leader, was solid in each of the first two stages, finishing seventh in both and scoring eight points. During the stage two caution break, crew chief Rudy Fugle made a two-tire call but Byron made contact with Cole Custer upon leaving his stall. Still, Byron took over the lead and was able to hold on for a while, eventually succumbing to Larson.
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After trying to short pit, Byron was trapped a lap down when Jesse Love crashed with 49 laps to go, bringing out a caution. However, he quickly got it back when Kyle Busch spun a handful of laps later and the No. 24 team went to work. More cautions and trips down pit road gave the team more time to repair the nose and by the end, Byron had rallied all the way back to a 13th-place finish.
Chase Elliott was also trapped a lap down along with Byron and like the 24 team, the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts squad used the Busch caution to rejoin the lead lap. From there, the 9 followed the 24 back through the field, avoiding damage from cautions and eventually coming home with a 19th-place showing.
Alex Bowman was also fast throughout most of the early going, especially in stage two as he rocketed through the field all the way to third, scoring eight points. But the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet was collected in a crash at the beginning of stage three, not of Bowman’s doing, and the damage was too severe to repair. He finished 35th.
“I just saw guys wrecking in front of me. I tried to get high. The No. 16 (AJ Allmendinger) came back across the track, and we all piled in there,” Bowman said. “I hate that for this team. We had a really fast No. 48 Ally Chevrolet. I think we passed more cars than anyone’s ever passed at Texas.”
The NASCAR Cup Series will return next week with a race at Kansas Motor Speedway. Next Sunday’s race is set for a 3 p.m. green flag and will air on FS1.
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How Michael McDowell’s underdog run for the win ended in the wall
Spire Motorsports has one NASCAR Cup Series victory as an organization, but that was almost six years ago. On Sunday at Texas, they started from pole position with Carson Hocevar, but it was veteran Michael McDowell who nearly brought home the hardware for the team in a stunning upset. Instead, his race ended on the […]
Spire Motorsports has one NASCAR Cup Series victory as an organization, but that was almost six years ago. On Sunday at Texas, they started from pole position with Carson Hocevar, but it was veteran Michael McDowell who nearly brought home the hardware for the team in a stunning upset. Instead, his race ended on the back of a tow truck.
“I just really hate it for everyone on this No. 71 Chevrolet,” said McDowell. “We were giving it everything we had there to try to keep track position. Joey [Logano] got a run there, and I tried to block it. I went as far as I think you could probably go. When [Ryan] Blaney slid up in front of me, it just took the air off of it and I just lost the back of it. I still had the fight in me, but I probably should have conceded at that point.
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“Just proud of everyone at Spire Motorsports. I know that’s not the day that we wanted, but we had the opportunity to win the race. I’m really proud of everyone at the Hendrick Motorsports engine shop – you guys saw those restarts, the motors were ripping. Just hate that we didn’t get it done, but we knew we had to go for it. We went for it and it didn’t work out.”
McDowell, who has over 500 starts as a Cup Series and shocked the world when he won the 2021 Daytona 500 with Front Row Motorsports. Since then, he collected another victory at the Indianapolis Road Course in 2023, but that was the last time he visited Victory Lane. In the off-season, he joined Spire to help the three-car organization improve its on-track efforts. Well, when crew chief Travis Peterson made the call to take two tires in favor of track position, McDowell almost secured a lot more than a decent finish.
He snatched the lead away from Kyle Larson, fending off all challengers on every restart. He was helped by the fact that the closing laps of the race featured very short runs due to the constant carnage throughout the pack. But when defending series champion Joey Logano finally caught him with four laps to go, McDowell had no intentions of surrounding.
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He ran Logano all the way to the apron in a desperate attempt to block, but it wasn’t enough. He fell back to third as Logano’s teammate Ryan Blaney also passed him, but he kept pushing.
That’s when he lost control in the dirty air from Blaney’s car, slamming the outside wall and ending his day. His crew chief put his head in his hands in disbelief as McDowell’s race came to screeching halt. Despite his valiant effort, McDowell leaves Texas with a 26th-place finish.
Photos from Texas – Race
Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford
Joey Logano, Team Penske FordSean Gardner / Getty Images
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
NASCAR President Steve Phelps
NASCAR President Steve PhelpsJames Gilbert / Getty Images
James Gilbert / Getty Images
Ryan Blaney, Team Penske Ford
Ryan Blaney, Team Penske FordJames Gilbert / Getty Images
James Gilbert / Getty Images
William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletChris Graythen – Getty Images
Chris Graythen – Getty Images
Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing ChevroletChris Graythen – Getty Images
Chris Graythen – Getty Images
Noah Gragson, Front Row Motorsports Ford
Noah Gragson, Front Row Motorsports FordChris Graythen – Getty Images
Chris Graythen – Getty Images
Austin Cindric, Team Penske Ford
Austin Cindric, Team Penske FordChris Graythen – Getty Images
Dramatic fire ends Denny Hamlin’s Texas NASCAR Cup race
Denny Hamlin became the first driver to fall out of the race Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway with his day ending in a dramatic oil fire. Hamlin was attempting to make up ground after some early miscommunication with the team. When Noah Gragson spun, forcing the first yellow flag of the race, the entire field […]
Denny Hamlin became the first driver to fall out of the race Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway with his day ending in a dramatic oil fire.
Hamlin was attempting to make up ground after some early miscommunication with the team. When Noah Gragson spun, forcing the first yellow flag of the race, the entire field dove to the pits … except Hamlin. In some confusion over code words, he stayed out when he was meant to pit. He came to pit road alone, falling to the very rear of the field.
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A frustrated Hamlin began his march forward, but it was slow going as passing is extremely difficult at the modern version of Texas. However, the No. 11 Toyota Camry began to slow abruptly with just a few laps to go in the stage. Off the pace, the car spun out in Turn 1, as flames erupted from under the car in what appeared to be an oil fire.
This will mark Hamlin’s first DNF of the 2025 season, finishing 38th (last). He completed just 75 of 267 laps before the mechanical failure. It also ended an impressive streak of 21 consecutive lead lap finishes for Hamlin. The first stage ended under caution with Austin Cindric collecting taking the ‘win’ and collecting ten valuable bonus points.
“It was blowing up for about a lap or so before it really detonated,” said Hamlin. “I tried to keep it off to keep it from full detonating, that was they can diagnose exactly what happened to it. It’s tough to say exactly what it is, but they’ll go back and look at it and we’ll find out in a few weeks.”
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Speaking more on the rash of mechanical gremlins plaguing the Toyota camp, Hamlin said, “I’m not really sure. I’ve had blown engines in two or three season in-a-row now where we didn’t have any issues several years prior to that. Just trying to develop I’m guessing and trying to get more. Certainly, we feel like we need to get a bit more power but this was unexpected for us.”
Photos from Texas – Race
Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford
Joey Logano, Team Penske FordSean Gardner / Getty Images
Sean Gardner / Getty Images
NASCAR President Steve Phelps
NASCAR President Steve PhelpsJames Gilbert / Getty Images
James Gilbert / Getty Images
Ryan Blaney, Team Penske Ford
Ryan Blaney, Team Penske FordJames Gilbert / Getty Images
James Gilbert / Getty Images
William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletChris Graythen – Getty Images
Chris Graythen – Getty Images
Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing ChevroletChris Graythen – Getty Images
Chris Graythen – Getty Images
Noah Gragson, Front Row Motorsports Ford
Noah Gragson, Front Row Motorsports FordChris Graythen – Getty Images
Chris Graythen – Getty Images
Austin Cindric, Team Penske Ford
Austin Cindric, Team Penske FordChris Graythen – Getty Images
Laurens County First Steps joins NASCAR Day Giveathon to expand early literacy program | News
Laurens County First Steps (LCFS), a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting early childhood education and family development in Laurens County, recently announced its participation in the NASCAR Day Giveathon 2025. LCFS is one of only ten South Carolina organizations selected to benefit from this 27-hour online fundraising event. The NASCAR Day Giveathon will kick off […]
Laurens County First Steps (LCFS), a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting early childhood education and family development in Laurens County, recently announced its participation in the NASCAR Day Giveathon 2025.
LCFS is one of only ten South Carolina organizations selected to benefit from this 27-hour online fundraising event.
The NASCAR Day Giveathon will kick off at 3:00 PM EDT on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, and continue through 6:00 PM EDT on Wednesday, May 14, 2025.
All funds raised during this event will directly support the integration of the Laurens School District 55 Dolly Parton Imagination Library affiliate program with the Laurens County First Steps program. This unification will ensure that all children across Laurens County can participate in a single, streamlined program.
The annual cost to maintain this expanded initiative is estimated at $46,204. With the community’s help, LCFS can provide a free book every month to 1,426 children from birth to age five — at a cost of just $2.70 per child.
To make a donation during the Giveathon, please visit https://laurensfirststeps.org/ starting at 3:00 PM EDT on May 13. Click on the event link to be directed to the NASCAR Day Giveathon donation page. Every gift, regardless of size, will directly impact young lives by supporting early literacy and school readiness.
For further information, please contact Laurens County First Steps at toniable@laurenscfirststeps.org or 864-984-8130.
Erik Jones completes 300th NASCAR Cup Series race in fifth
FORT WORTH — Erik Jones completed his 300th NASCAR Cup Series start Sunday with a fifth-place finish in the Wurth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway. Photo: Marty Aragon/TRE The 28-year-old racer started 14th, earned stage points in Stage 1, and overcame multiple pit road penalties to earn his first Top-5 finish since Talladega last October. […]
FORT WORTH — Erik Jones completed his 300th NASCAR Cup Series start Sunday with a fifth-place finish in the Wurth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Photo: Marty Aragon/TRE
The 28-year-old racer started 14th, earned stage points in Stage 1, and overcame multiple pit road penalties to earn his first Top-5 finish since Talladega last October.
“It was a sloppy day in a lot of ways. We had two pit road penalties, but just happy to come back from it and get a top-five,” Jones said.
Photo: Aragon/The Racing Experts
“It would have been pretty disappointing to have a car this good, kind of our first car this year that’s been pretty strong to throw it away. I thought we were headed that way, but it turned out well.”
Jones made his NASCAR Cup Series debut in May 2015, filling in for Kyle Busch in the No. 18. He later made two starts in 2015, subbing for a suspended Matt Kenseth before joining the series full-time in 2017.
After his rookie campaign at Furniture Row Racing, Jones raced from 2018 to 2020 at Joe Gibbs Racing, earning two of his three wins with the team.
Jones joined Petty-GMS Racing in 2021, which later became Legacy Motor Club, piloting the No. 43 entry.
Photo: Jeff Ames/TRE
Jones became the 104th different driver in NASCAR history to hit the 300-start mark.
In his 300 career starts, Jones had amassed 2 pole, 3 wins, 38 Top-5 finishes, 90 Top-10 finishes, 828 laps led and two playoff appearances (2018 and 2019).
Lee Petty was the first driver to hit the 300-start mark in 1958 with his 13th start of the year at Old Dominion Speedway.
Daniel Suarez, who has 298 starts, is expected to hit the 300 start mark at later this month at the Coke 600.
Dominic Aragon is currently the editor-in-chief for The Racing Experts.
From Grants, New Mexico, USA, Aragon started watching NASCAR in 2004 and has been covering the sport since 2009. Aragon is a 2012 graduate of Grants High School and a May 2016 graduate of the University of New Mexico with a B.A. in Mass Communications & Journalism. Aragon has worked in local and national media, as a musician, and an educator. He is co-author of the 2024 book “All of It: Daytona 500 Champion Tells the Rest of the Story” with racer Geoff Bodine.
Aragon, his wife Feliz, and son Christopher currently reside in Grants, New Mexico, USA.
You can reach Dominic at daragon@theracingexperts.net.
Reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Joey Logano gets 1st win this season at Texas
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Joey Logano stayed in front on a restart in overtime at Texas on Sunday to get his first victory this season. Logano led only seven of the 271 laps, four more than scheduled at the 1 1/2-mile track. He had started 27th in the 11th […]
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Joey Logano stayed in front on a restart in overtime at Texas on Sunday to get his first victory this season.
Logano led only seven of the 271 laps, four more than scheduled at the 1 1/2-mile track. He had started 27th in the 11th race this year.
It came a week after Team Penske teammate Austin Cindric’s win at Talladega, where Logano had a fifth-place finish that became 39th after a postrace inspection found an issue with the spoiler on his No. 22 Ford. There was also Logano’s expletive-laden rant on the radio toward his teammate in the middle of that race that the two smoothed out during the week.
On the final restart after the 12th caution, Logano was on the inside of his other teammate, Ryan Blaney, but surged ahead going on the backstretch and stayed easily in front the final 1 1/2 laps. Ross Chastain then passed Blaney to finish second ahead of him.
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Logano got his 37th career victory, getting the lead for the first time on lap 264. He went low to complete a pass of Michael McDowell, who on a caution with 47 laps left took only two tires and moved up 15 spots to second.
McDowell got loose a few laps after that being passed by Logano and crashed to bring out the caution that sent the race to overtime. He finished 26th.
Odds and Ends
Chase Elliott left Texas last spring with his first victory after 42 races and 18 months without one. He hasn’t won since, and now has another long winless drought — this one 38 races and now nearly 13 months after finishing 16th. … A crew member for Christopher Bell crawled in through the passenger side of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and was fully in the car to reconnect an air hose the driver’s helmet during a caution in the second stage. It took two stops during that caution, and twice climbing into the car, to resolve the issue.
Fiery end to Hamlin streak
Denny Hamlin had finished on the lead lap in 21 consecutive races, but a fiery finish on lap 75 ended that streak that had matched the eighth-longest in NASCAR history. He was the first car out of the race.
After the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota lost power, something blew up when Hamlin recycled the engine. There were flames coming out from under the car and it was engulfed in smoke by time it rolled to a stop on the inside of the track and Hamlin climbed out unharmed.
Youngest polesitter
Carson Hocevar, the 22-year-old driver who is McDowell’s teammate with Spire Motorsports, was the youngest polesitter ever in Texas. He led only the first 22 laps of the race, losing it while pitting during the first caution. He finished 24th after a late accident.
Stage cautions
Both in-race stages finished under caution. Cindric won Stage 1 after Hamlin’s issues and Kyle Larson took the second after a yellow flag came out because of debris on the track after the right rear tire on Chris Buescher’s car came apart.
Larson got his 68th overall stage win and his sixth at Texas, with both marks being records. He has won a stage in each of the last five Cup races at Texas, starting in his 2021 win there.
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‘Most impressive win since Jimmy arrived!’ – Perk
| NBA Classic Game
