Sponsorships are the lifeblood of NASCAR, as they are in most other organizations, giving crucial revenue and assistance to teams. As a result, each sponsor plays an important role. Valvoline is one of Hendrick Motorsports’ sponsors, and their relationship has a long history. They have been affiliated since 2014, and it appears that we will see more of Valvoline this season, and possibly until 2029!
On Wednesday, HMS announced a five-year contract extension with Valvoline, binding them together till the year 2029. But while this is excellent news for the team, it has raised certain eyebrows for fans, and most likely, rival team owners!
Rick Hendrick’s golden boy having a sponsorship contract till 2029 raises eyebrows.
As part of the deal extension, the $5.46 billion company will expand its 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 six races per year for the next five 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 for the No. 5 team.
In a release, 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 Kyle Larson will continue his partnership with Hendrick Motorsports beyond his current contract? See, Kyle Larson has a multi-year contract extension signed with Hendrick Motorsports 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?
This kind of also closes doors on other team owners who would want the No. 5 HMS driver on their side. This, for obvious reasons, prompted fans to question the recent deal on social media. Not just about him possibly rejoining HMS, but also the fact that he struggles with sponsors. And this story with Kyle Larson is not of today! He has been struggling with sponsorships after what went down in 2020, a time he would very likely want to forget.
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