Sports
Chase Elliott’s Boss Holding On to a $5.46 Billion Fandom’s Eyes on Kyle Larson’s Situation
Chase Elliott’s Boss Holding On to a $5.46 Billion Fandom’s Eyes on Kyle Larson’s Situation
In NASCAR, like most other sports organizations, sponsorships are the lifeblood of teams, providing essential funding and support. As such, even for the winningest teams, every sponsor is crucial. One such sponsor for Rick Hendrick & Co. is Valvoline Inc., a global leader in vehicle care and supplier of premium-branded lubricants and automotive services.
Hendrick Motorsports and their partnership goes way back. They have been associated since 2014, and it looks like we’ll be seeing more of Valvoline this season and, in fact, till 2029! On Wednesday, HMS announced a five-year contract extension with Valvoline. And although this is great news for the team, it has raised certain eyebrows for fans and, most likely, other team owners
As part of the extension, the new 5-year agreement with the $5.46 billion company brings in the primary sponsorship to William Byron of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for eight races. This is up from the previous three-race deal. It will also sponsor the car for 6 races per year for the next 5 years, beginning in 2025. Plus, it will remain an associate sponsor partner for all four Hendrick Motorsports NASCAR Cup series entries through the end of the 2029 season. As for Kyle Larson, Valvoline will also remain a three-race primary sponsor partner.
In addition, Valvoline will remain the presenting sponsor of the annual Randy Dorton Hendrick Engine Builder Showdown, a competition that brings together Hendrick Motorsports engine builders and Hendrick Automotive Group master technicians. In a statement, team owner Rick Hendrick expressed, “We’re privileged to expand our incredible relationship with Valvoline. They raise the bar each season, from the elite performance of the products in our race cars to the fan-favorite Valvoline paint scheme designs.”
The sponsorship news is generally positive, but the details of Kyle Larson’s sponsorship extension raise some important questions. In particular, does this new deal mean that Larson will continue his partnership with Hendrick Motorsports beyond his current contract? We know Kyle Larson has a multi-year contract signed with HMS through 2026. And this deal with Valvoline goes through 2029. So, does this mean that Kyle Larson already has a new contract in place with the team?
Lewis Hamilton has candidly revealed that he has struggled with depression for most of his life since his teenage years. The 39-year-old, who will leave Mercedes to join Ferrari next year, endured a difficult upbringing and rarely shies away from speaking about difficult topics.
In an interview with The Times, Hamilton admitted that he struggled to cope with bullying and the pressure of trying to make it as a racing driver. He also revealed that he has battled with depression as an adult, having found it difficult to open up about his journey.
“When I was in my twenties I had some really difficult phases,” he said. “I mean, I’ve struggled with mental health through my life, depression from a very early age when I was, like, 13.
“I think it was the pressure of the racing and struggling at school. The bullying. I had no one to talk to.” When asked if he has ever seen a therapist, he replied: “I spoke to one woman, years ago, but that wasn’t really helpful. I would like to find someone today.”
I think it was the pressure of the racing and struggling at school. The bullying. I had no one to talk to.” When asked if he has ever seen a therapist, he replied: “I spoke to one woman, years ago, but that wasn’t really helpful. I would like to find someone today.”
Hamilton explained that he has gone on silent retreats in a bid to improve his mental health in particularly difficult moments. He added that he is ‘much more refined’ in the present day than he was as a young man trying to forge a career in racing.
“You’re learning about things that have been passed down to you from your parents, noticing those patterns, how you react to things, how you can change those,” he said.
“So what might have angered me in the past doesn’t anger me today. I am so much more refined.”
Hamilton believes the improvements he has made in recent years have helped him to become a better racing driver as he prepares to embark on a new challenge with Ferrari next season.
THERE IS COMMENT BOX AFTER THE ADS, SHARE YOUR THOUGHT WITH US
After an action-filled weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, twelve drivers have moved on to the next round set to kick off on 29 September at Kansas Speedway. The three-race stint will come to an end at Charlotte Motor Speedway on 13 October, following which, eight drivers will compete to make the Championship 4.
Moreover, Charlotte has also witnessed some heated moments among drivers. The same happened in 2010, when Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch found themselves in an on-track squabble at Charlotte Motor Speedway.With 10 laps to go in the non-point race, the Toyota stars were running one and two. Busch (18) attempted to snatch the lead from Hamlin (11) but got blocked by him, which forced him to run into the wall. A few laps later, things took yet another sour turn for Busch as he blew a tire and crashed. While Hamlin delivered a top-5 finish, Busch settled for a disappointing P14.
Busch minced no words as he threatened to kill Hamlin on the radio. When asked about the same during a post-race interview, the former said, via ESPN,
“It was the heat of the moment and that’s who I am and that’s my expression and I am not going to be sorry for what I say. It’s freedom of speech.”
“I was frustrated,” Busch further explained. “It was a saying that is said a lot, and take it for what it’s worth. It wasn’t joking, but it wasn’t going to happen. It wasn’t meant (like I was going to kill him). With what? With my great looks?”
Kyle Busch missed the playoffs this year, for the first time since 2012. As of today, the two-time Cup Series champion stands 25th in the point standings. Although not a playoff driver, Busch has seven more races this year to end his winless streak.
Kyle Busch and JTG Daugherty Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. got involved in a fistfight at this year’s All-Star event at North Wilkesboro Speedway in May. Stenhouse Jr., who allegedly started the brawl, was fined $75,000, and two of his crew members were suspended for two races.
Furthermore, Stenhouse Jr.’s father and former Sprint car driver, Ricky Stenhouse Sr. was suspended until further notice. According to a recent post by journalist Bob Pockrass on X, Stenhouse Sr. has been reinstated.This means he will be allowed behind the garage and on the pit road on race days.
On one hand, Chase Elliott suffered an initial setback at the start of the Round of 12 for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs in needing an engine swap after qualifying but on the other hand, it would have been worse if it happened during the race instead.
The Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 discovered an engine ailment during practice on Saturday at Kansas Speedway and will start at the rear of the field.
“We went through all the things that you can check on pit road,” said Elliott, the 2020 Cup Series champion. “Obviously, when you have an engine issue like that, it can be difficult to identify what exactly is broke. For me, I came off Turn 2 and basically just felt like it went down a cylinder, audible change, and lost a lot of power, so I knew something was wrong and came in as quick as I could, just to try to keep from messing it up any worse. But such a bummer. What a terrible time to have something go wrong.
The Hendrick engine shop has been so good throughout my career. I don’t even think I’ve filled up a hand of engine issues that we’ve had over the course of my entire career, so I hate it, but would much rather have it happen today than tomorrow.”
To his point, it’s a long race and he can recover, especially at Kansas which is a fast wide track that provides multiple lanes for faster cars to pass. The only real hurdle is that the starting spot might deny him points by the end of Stage 1.
On the other end of the spectrum, Christopher Bell already enjoys a decent margin of error to start this round and by scoring the pole will have the opportunity to score even more stage points to pad his cushion in advance of calamitous races at Talladega and the Charlotte Roval.
Of course, winning could make it all a moot point.
“Win this week,” Bell said when asked how he can mitigate the risk of Talladega and the R I mean, yeah, that’s a great question. There really is no hiding, although it does feel like the fall Talladega race has been a lot calmer than the spring race the last couple years. I don’t know. Superspeedway racing, I’ve been very vocal, it’s not my favorite style of racing and that puts a lot of emphasis on this race tomorrow to try to get some stage points. Obviously, winning would be ideal, but certainly going to Talladega with a big cushion is our number one goal.”
THERE IS COMMENT BOX AFTER THE ADS, SHARE YOUR THOUGHT WITH US
