Denny Hamlin’s $63.37 Billion-Worth Sponsor Set to Retain 2023-Esque Deal With JGR; Fans Left Fuming

From the very beginning, NASCAR, being a capital-intensive sport, has heavily relied on sponsors to fund the contesting teams. Their reluctance to let off their sponsors to prevent race teams from getting doomed is not an unknown fact. However, unlike NASCAR’s disinclination to part ways with the backers, it’s the sponsors this time who are expressing reluctance to fund the teams.

One such example is Joe Gibbs Racing‘s decades-old sponsor, FedEx, which has been a primary and cash-rich sponsor for Denny Hamlin since 2005. However, as time went by, the sponsor’s presence in JGR got reduced to just a few decals on the #11 Toyota, and their 2024 contract extension disclosure with JGR has left the fanbase furious.

FedEx’s drastic cutback in NASCAR sponsorship raises concerns

On the 36-race calendar, FedEx would always be the one to sponsor at least 30 races a season. However, this went down in 2023 when they backed only eight out of 27 races, as they didn’t back Denny Hamlin‘s NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway, NASCAR Chicago Street Race, NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and a few others.

Moreover, FedEx refrained from extending their multi-year partnership until September 2023, casting a cloud of uncertainty over Denny Hamlin’s tenure as a driver at JGR. However, a sense of relief washed over the 43-year-old driver when the confirmation of a $63.37 million sponsorship for the contract extension finally materialized.

Regardless of the extension, the revelation didn’t sit well with the fans, as they expressed their rage toward NASCAR when motorsport reporter, Adam Stern, gave a reality check on FedEx’s contract extension. He unveiled, “@FedEx is expected to buy roughly the same number of paint schemes in 2024 from @JoeGibbsRacing as it did this year, when it reduced its primary count down to around a dozen amid broader cost-cutting efforts.”

Stern unfurled that it’s been three years since FedEx began retracting from their full-fledged sponsorship and added, “FedEx began cutting back from sponsoring the full season in 2021.”

Stern’s disclosure sparked outrage in the NASCAR community as fans wasted no time and slammed NASCAR for their broken rules, due to which the financial backing of the sport is declining.

Fans pen down their rage over JGR’s contract extension

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Fans have never shied away from taking center stage, whenever the matter becomes a huge concern for the betterment of the sport. This time, they targeted NASCAR as the prime reason behind FedEx’s diminishing sponsorship.

One fan slammed NASCAR for resisting expanding the viewer demographics due to which the sport is confined to the American people and not very popular globally. He wrote, “This is what has happened since @nascar stopped growing the demographics of its fan base. The TV deals to CSN’s shrunk the demos and sponsors visibility to new fans/viewers fell of a cliff causing a huge continuing churn.”

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Another fan took a jibe at NASCAR for their nonfeasible sponsorship model, suggested a solution, and commented, “Nascars sponsorship model is broken. What would work better is to have a single livery on the car all year long and have FedEx pay for say the side of the car, someone else the hood, someone else the other half of the hood, someone else the rear, etc.”

This fan looked on the sunny side that the sponsor is still with JGR and wrote, “Atleast they are not leaving NASCAR and sticking with their driver that made them more recognizable NASCAR-wise”

Rather than expressing rage, this fan expressed his disbelief that FedEx is still with NASCAR and commented, “I find it odd that FedEx is still w/JGR & NASCAR. I’m sure that their objectives for sponsorship were met long ago.”

NASCAR’s stubbornness to grow the sport globally, across several demographics has resulted in the fading interest of sponsors over time. With a reduced flow of cash, the teams would have a tough time managing their expenses which will ultimately cost them their race performance. What do you think?

Read More: Denny Hamlin Sums up His Contract Saga With Joe Gibbs and Toyota in Two Words