Xfinity Driver’s Desperate Plea on Social Media Exposes NASCAR’s Brutal Reality

Even before reaching the season’s halfway mark, NASCAR garnered immense success, journeying to Le Mans, Chicago, and even the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Banking on its diversity and outreach efforts, the 2023 season also saw drivers from other realms of the motorsport world drive to victory at NASCAR’s tracks. Ross Chastain then became the talk of the town after joining hands with Anheuser-Busch as his sponsor, come 2024.

Given the marvelous season NASCAR is enjoying, all may seem hunky-dory from afar. But beneath all the success lies a brutal reality that was recently exposed by Xfinity Series driver, Ryan Ellis.

“We just don’t have that”: Ryan Ellis pleads for help

Once competing in NASCAR’s Cup and Craftsman Truck Series sporadically, Ryan Ellis now competes part-time in the Xfinity Series, driving the #43 and #45 Chevy for Alpha Prime Racing. Having run 80 Xfinity Series races throughout his career, last week Ellis signed a full-time contract with Alpha Prime Racing for the 2024 season. This season alone Ellis competed in 21 races, yet the Alpha Prime Racing driver now finds himself in a pickle.

Sharing his ongoing troubles with sponsorship for the upcoming Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen, Ryan Ellis put out a video on Twitter, sharing a lengthy message. Revealing his sponsorship troubles, the Alpha Prime Racing driver further added, “And as we’ve also announced, trying to run the rest of this year in the #43 car and have open sponsorship for next week’s race at Watkins Glen in New York. It’s one of the coolest races that we go to all year, packed grandstands, packed infield. The Xfinity Series puts on a phenomenal show there. And, Alpha Prime Racing, small team, we actually run really good there. Our road-course program is phenomenal and we just don’t have that sponsorship yet,” the Alpha Prime Racing driver said.

He further added, “So, not looking forward for fan donations, anything like that, appreciate all those guys offering that. But we want to make sure it’s a sustainable partnership that we can grow in 2024. So turning to Social Media just to see if we can get eyes from the right person, from the right company that might be willing to come on board and support the team.”

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This revelation from Ryan Ellis shed light on NASCAR’s ongoing sponsor crisis, something that was earlier iterated by RFK Racing’s VP of Partnership-Sales, Jacob Wyne.

NASCAR’s increased sponsorship struggles

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Sponsors are undoubtedly any team’s backbone. But in recent years, sponsor numbers have steadily been dropping. NASCAR itself had cited that it now only retains 25% of the Fortune 500, while earlier figures hovered around the 60% mark. This drop in the number of full-time sponsors has given rise to a new trend, with challenger brands securing a part-time or event-specific sponsorship deal.

With the room for market leaders in NASCAR’s arsenal being run over by challenger brands, Jacob Pyne in an interview said, “The state of sponsorship and sponsorship sales [in racing]—I think it’s harder than it’s ever been…Specifically at FSG (Fenway Sports Group), we’re in the market trying to sell a helmet position for the [Pittsburgh] Penguins, a [Boston] Red Sox jersey patch deal.”

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Given the dire state of NASCAR’s sponsorship market, fans eagerly look forward to Ryan Ellis securing a sponsor for the Xfinity Series’ Watkins Glen event.