NASCAR: Hendrick abruptly cuts ties with long-time primary sponsor

Hooters has been a primary sponsor for Chase Elliott's Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet since the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series season, dating back to when he drove the No. 24 car.

The 2020 series champion, who has driven the No. 9 Chevrolet since 2018, recently got the longtime NASCAR sponsor its first win with the team, bringing the restaurant chain back to victory lane at Texas Motor Speedway in April.

Hooters had not won a Cup Series race as a primary sponsor since June 1992, when the late Alan Kulwicki earned what would be his final victory at Pocono Raceway en route to winning the championship.

Elliott had come close to ending that drought on a number of occasions before, most notably in the 2017 playoffs when a win at Phoenix Raceway would have sent him to his first Championship 4 in just his second season in the series.

However, the eight-year relationship between Rick Hendrick's team and Hooters has come to an abrupt end.

The brand's logo was removed from Elliott's No. 9 Chevrolet at Nashville Superspeedway this past weekend, and it was also removed from the partners page on Hendrick Motorsports' website.

Now it has been confirmed that the partnership is over, due to the fact that Hooters was unable to meet its sponsorship obligations for the 2024 season.

The No. 9 Chevrolet was also sponsored by the Atlanta, Georgia-based company at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Elliott's home race track, back in February. The company was due to sponsor Elliott's car again at Richmond Raceway in August, but that will not happen.

Hooters, which has more than 300 locations nationwide, recently shuttered more than 40 of those locations, making it one of a number of once-popular restaurant chains to cut back this year due to an increase in food costs, high labor rates, and consumers being extra cautious about spending in today's economy.