NASCAR: Major sponsor linked to new team after 15 years

Kroger has been a primary sponsor for JTG Daugherty Racing since 2010, which was only the team's second full season in the NASCAR Cup Series. But earlier in the year, it was rumored that America’s largest supermarket chain was considering a switch to a new organization after the 2024 season, bringing an end to one of the sport's longest standing partnerships.

While Joe Gibbs Racing was said to be a top candidate to land the sponsorship from Kroger at the time for various reasons, now a new frontrunner has emerged.

According to Sports Business Journal's Adam Stern, RFK Racing have emerged as the favorites to land a primary sponsorship deal with Kroger for the 2025 season and beyond, a major development amid the team's continued resurgence since bringing in Brad Keselowski as not only a full-time driver but a part owner.

Kroger linked to RFK Racing for 2025

There have been rumors about RFK Racing potentially expanding from two cars to three cars, and while they are not believed to be one of the teams in the catbird seat to secure one of the Stewart-Haas Racing charters that are supposedly still on the market, a deal of this nature with a company worth more than $38 billion could go a long way toward making expansion a reality.

Gene Haas plans to retain one of those charters to run Haas Factory Team, while Front Row Motorsports have announced the acquisition of another. The top two candidates to secure the remaining two are current two-car teams 23XI Racing and Trackhouse Racing Team.

Both Keselowski and Chris Buescher are under contract through at least the 2025 season. Keselowski joined the team in 2022, and Buescher ironically came over from JTG Daugherty Racing in 2020, swapping places with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. when RFK Racing were still known as Roush Fenway Racing.

Despite being faced with the impending loss of a longtime major sponsor, JTG Daugherty Racing have no plans to shutter operations and even recently announced a multi-year contract extension for 2023 Daytona 500 winner Stenhouse to continue behind the wheel of the No. 47 Chevrolet.