Jeff Gordon’s NASCAR Influence Caused Former HMS Driver to Lose a Seat at Dale Jr’s Team

The onset of 2023 brought about many tectonic shifts in NASCAR. One of the unexpected ones was the sponsorship debacle that Xfinity Series veteran driver Landon Cassill found himself in. Despite having voiced his plans to continue racing in the series earlier, he was forced to divert his path after his primary sponsor, Voyager Digital, filed for bankruptcy.

And so, after a full-time Xfinity season with Kaulig Racing in 2022, the driver was left without a ride for the ongoing season. But as it appears, 2023 wasn’t the first time Cassill fell prey to sponsorship problems. Talking to The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck, the driver lifted the curtains on the time when Hendrick Motorsports’ legend Jeff Gordon set off a series of events that led to him losing his driver’s seat in 2009.

4-time Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon forces Dale Earnhardt Jr’s driver to fall prey to his losses

Every week on the “12 Questions” podcast, veteran journalist Jeff Gluck asks different racing drivers the same 12 questions. This week, one of them to Landon Cassill was, “In your career, what is the deal that came closest to happening that ended up not working out?”

Cassill’s career in NASCAR began as early as 2007 when he was signed by Hendrick Motorsports. Quickly making strong impressions, he went on to win the 2008 Rookie of the Year with JR Motorsports. But unfortunately for him, the happy season did not last long. 2009 saw the on-the-rise driver not race in any of the top series.

Answering Gluck’s question, Cassill detailed his unprecedented hiccups in 2009. Talking about how Jeff Gordon losing out on his sponsorship with Nicorette – a nicotine replacement therapy brand – made the team’s heads transfer his own sponsor with National Guard to Gordon’s #24 car, Cassill pointed the finger at the Hendrick Motorsports’ legend.

He said, “National Guard re-signed with me to race in 2009, and it was really exciting. I had a great relationship with the Guard (…) Then Jeff Gordon lost the Nicorette sponsorship that was on the 24 car, so that opened the door for the National Guard to move to his car. So I lost the National Guard sponsorship there.”

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However, Cassill losing the National Guard sponsorship wasn’t the end of his woes that year. Further revealing the efforts that Dale Earnhardt Jr had taken to keep him in one of his cars, the driver explained why it all ended up in vain and he was left in the same situation, like the one he is in right now.

The sequence of actions that left Landon Cassill without a seat despite Dale Earhardt Jr’s efforts

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Continuing on his narration, Cassill talked about how Dale Jr wasn’t letting him go without a car so easily. Mentioning that they replaced his lost National Guard sponsorship with Unilever, he said, “I met with all the Unilever folks and had done photoshoots with Dale Jr. and everything. Firesuits were made. I was going to drive the Klondike car and the Hellmann’s car. I still have the firesuits from those photoshoots.” But once more, tragedy struck.

Another out-of-control event of the Navy quitting their sponsorship for JR Motorsports’ No.88 car in 2008, led to Cassill’s momentary happiness coming down in ruins. He said, “My sponsorship got moved to the 88 car. That was so late in the game, there was nothing to replace it on the car. I still had a contract with Hendrick Motorsports and JR Motorsports to drive another year, but they didn’t have an obligation to run me full time, so that left me without a ride at all in 2009.”

Back in those years, Cassill was an up-and-coming driver. The likes of Gordon, on the other hand, were much more crucial and impactful to the roster of Hendrick Motorsports. The No.88 car of JR Motorsports too was being commanded by Brad Keselowski that year. End of the day, a canon event set off by Jeff Gordon left Cassill without a car that year.

Since then, he has gone on to make multiple appearances in the Cup Series and the Xfinity Series. Making a strong name for himself in the sport, he was last seen behind the Voyager Digital-sponsored No.10 car of Kaulig Racing. Hopefully, he will make a comeback in the sport soon, with a different sponsor.

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