NASCAR: New favorite emerges to land longtime Kevin Harvick sponsor
By Asher Fair
With Kevin Harvick set to retire after the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, Busch is looking toward the future, and a new favorite has emerged to secure sponsorship from the brand.
After 23 years, including the last 10 with Stewart-Haas Racing, 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick is set to retire once the 2023 season concludes.
As a result, longtime sponsor Anheuser-Busch will need to make a change in 2024, having spent the last decade as a primary sponsor of Harvick’s No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet/Ford.
Busch, along with Coca-Cola, Xfinity, and GEICO, has been a Premier Partner of the NASCAR Cup Series since the sport opted to go in that direction, rather than signing a single title sponsor, following the 2019 season.
They are already said to be in talks with multiple teams regarding potential 2024 NASCAR Cup Series plans.
Kyle Busch has made a friendly pitch, given that his last name matches that of the brewing company, but a new favorite has apparently emerged.
According to Sports Business Journal’s Adam Stern, Trackhouse Racing Team’s Ross Chastain is looking like the most likely candidate to land sponsorship from Busch next year.
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Chastain has driven the No. 1 Chevrolet for the Justin Marks and Pitbull-owned Trackhouse Racing Team since last season, when they expanded from one to two cars after acquiring Chip Ganassi Racing.
He won two races last year — the first two wins of his career — and advanced to the playoffs for the first time before ultimately settling for second place in the championship standings. Through two races this season, he leads the point standings for the first time in his career.
Just before the 2023 season began, he signed a multi-year contract extension to remain with Trackhouse Racing Team for a “long time”.
So there is clearly a sense of stability between the 30-year-old Alva, Florida native and the third-year team, which is exactly what you’d expect a brand such as Busch to be looking for after having spent the last decade with an all-time great in Harvick.
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Given the fact that the 2023 season is just two weeks old, there is no timetable on a decision or an announcement from Busch regarding their 2024 plans, but given the importance of sponsorship in the grand scheme of NASCAR, this is certainly a situation to monitor — especially since silly season itself might be relatively toned down this year.