By Ethan Hoffman -- Motorsports Today Contributor
Early Tuesday morning, the "worst kept secret" in the NASCAR garage was finally announced as it was revealed that Anheuser Busch would move their sponsorship from Stewart-Haas Racing and the retiring Kevin Harvick to Ross Chastain and the #1 Trackhouse team in a multi-year deal.
Rumors of the pairing started swirling in early February before the season even started, since then Ross Chastain’s brand has only grown, being regarded as having the most “Superstar Potential” of any driver since the early 2000s.
The deal seemed all but confirmed after Tony Stewart stated that the #4’s races were completely open during the Josh Berry announcement press conference.
The loss is major for Stewart-Haas Racing, which is set to lose its biggest and most notable sponsor to date alongside losing the team’s best driver at a time when the team is at an all-time low, with 3 of their 4 teams not only sitting outside the playoffs but also outside the top 20, with Ryan Preece being the highest in 25th.
Stewart-Haas COO Brian McKinley had this to say about the departure of Anheuser Busch from the team. “Anhesuer-Busch has been an outstanding partner in its nearly decade-long tenure with Stewart-Haas Racing … We value all of our partnerships and take great pride in seeing Anheuser-Busch’s association with Kevin Harvick and Stewart-Haas Racing.”
The beer enterprise is a perfect fit for Ross Chastain, who has garnered a status as an “everyday, working man” who happens to wheel a racecar at 200+ mph and win races while putting on a show for the fans. Everything that the brand represents.
In fact, the fit was so perfect, Justin Marks stated in early 2022 that it was his dream sponsor for Trackhouse Racing.
During a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) on the r/NASCAR subreddit, Marks answered who his dream sponsor would be. He answered with a swift and clear response of Anheuser Busch.
This move dates back much longer than just earlier this February. Trackhouse Racing is technically one of the last few remnants of Dale Earnhardt, Inc, who signed a then, record-breaking 6-year deal with Anheuser Busch to put Budweiser on the Dale Earnhardt, Jr’s #8 Monte Carlo.
The partnership with DEI and Budweiser lasted past Dale Earnhardt’s untimely death, leaving the organization the same year that Dale Jr did.
Since then the sponsorship has bounded around a bit. First to Kasey Kahne for 4 years throughout the dying years of Evernham Motorsports. Then to Kevin Harvick for both his Richard Childress Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing tenures, before switching its branding from Budweiser to Busch Beer early into the 2016 Cup Series season.
Alongside Trackhouse executive Ty Norris, who was the Executive Vice President for DEI when the deal was signed, Anheuser Busch has a new, yet familiar home at Trackhouse Racing.
Comments