A feeling of déjà vu. That’s what plenty of NASCAR fans will be feeling at the moment. After all, a veteran racer will be making his second Cup Series start since 2016, this time for the controversial Garage 66. The team, owned by Carl Long and formerly known as MBM Motorsports, is featuring a familiar face at the highest level once again, hoping to redeem themselves after their failed attempt to feature Mike Wallace at the season-opening Daytona 500.

Casey Mears is back. Well, for one race, anyway. The 47-year-old will be driving the No. 66 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Garage 66, featuring sponsor HitchGo for the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway. The company is raising eyebrows in the NASCAR community, with many fearing a repeat of Chip Ganassi and D.C. Solar’s situation.

Is Casey Mears’ NASCAR return marred by controversy?

It’s not a situation fans will forget anytime soon. Back in 2017, D.C. Solar, a company specializing in solar-powered generators, partnered with Chip Ganassi Racing for a sponsorship deal. The high-profile partnership saw the company’s name featured prominently on Kyle Larson and Felix Rosenqvist’s cars. However, things took a shocking twist in 2018 when D.C. Solar was revealed to be a part of a large Ponzi scheme. As a result, the company’s founders, Jeffrey and Renee Carpoff, were arrested for defrauding investors of over $1 billion.

The repercussions were significant. The company was ultimately forced into bankruptcy, which forced Chip Ganassi Racing to sever ties with D.C Solar. While it might not be directly related to the scandal, CGR eventually sold its NASCAR Xfinity Series program in 2019, publicly stating that it wanted to focus on other motorsports disciplines, such as IndyCar and IMSA. Even though the D.C Solar incident did affect the team’s image negatively, it was not directly responsible for the team withdrawing from the stock car racing series.

Meanwhile, Casey Mears, a former Chip Ganassi Racing driver, is preparing for his return to NASCAR. The 47-year-old veteran will be driving the No. 66 for his 490th start at the highest level. The former Hendrick Motorsports driver has only notched one victory over the years but will be aiming to double that tally at the Cook Out 400. Sharing his thoughts ahead of the race, the California native said, “I’m happy to be back in a race car and look forward to returning to Martinsville, one of my favorite tracks.”

A one of appearance of this sort wouldn’t have been possible without the support of key sponsors. Giving credit where it’s due, Mears went on to say, “I’m excited to have HitchGO, Mosby’s Towing and Transport, and Coble Enterprises on board as we chip away at 500 NASCAR Cup Series starts.” The involvement of HitchGo, a small company with 2-10 employees, has gained attention from fans, many of whom are drawing unfair parallels with the D.C. Solar situation, even though there is no evidence of a possible correlation.

Fans divided after Garage 66’s new sponsor raises suspicion

As expected, it didn’t take long for NASCAR fans to come up with conspiracy theories about HutchGo’s partnership with Garage 66. Even though there is no evidence to back up their suspicions, many fans couldn’t help but compare the situation to the infamous D.C. Solar scandal with Chip Ganassi racing, with one fan saying, “Unfortunately, motorsports has a long history of shady sponsorship deals, which makes fans suspicious when a obscure company starts sponsorsing teams and drivers out of the blue.” Echoing that sentiment, another Reddit user went on to say, “NASCAR and shady sponsors go hand in hand.”

A motorsports enthusiast felt that the scandal involving D.C. Solar has deeply scarred the fanbase, who have now begun conspiring even when the situation is completely normal. Dispelling rumors about a potential scandal, the fan wrote, “I think the whole DC Solar thing has really traumatized fans. It is completely normal for smaller companies to sponsor NASCAR. Many businesses will use NASCAR for the sole purpose to network with other sponsor executives who VIP at the track. This is where you see them sponsoring smaller teams who aren’t asking premium pricing for sponsors.”

HutchGo provides trailer services, ensuring that Mobile RV technicians are available on demand in Western Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio, and beyond. Believing that the company is targeting the right sort of potential customers with the sponsorship, one Reddit user couldn’t help but say, “You’re def suffering ptsd from dc solar. This is a lot less money and even for a newer company it makes so much sense for them to target nascar given the overlap nascar fans have with rv.” He wasn’t the only one to think along those lines, as another fan said, “They’re an RV repair company. NASCAR sounds like the perfect place to dump their marketing money.”