"The sport isn't healthy if teams take sponsors from others" NASCAR fans react to Denny Hamlin's major deal after RFK sponsor shift

Joe Gibbs Racing secured a deal with King's Hawaiian after the sponsor had a series of conflicts with RFK Racing due to marketing issues. King's Hawaiian repositioned itself with JGR, forming a multi-year partnership, and choosing to represent Denny Hamlin in 2025 after ending its partnership with RFK. This turn of events caught the attention of NASCAR fans, as they expressed skepticism about the sponsors shifting teams.

JGR officially announced their partnership with their new sponsors on X (formerly Twitter).

Replying to this a host of fans expressed their thoughts. One fan stated:

"The sport is not healthy if teams are taking away sponsors from other teams"

This controversy took place when fans noticed King's Hawaiian was first sponsoring Brad Keselowski, co-owner and driver for RFK Racing. Keselowski fans especially fired back after hearing about JGR's newest sponsor.

Other people in the comments also stated their distaste for the partnership.

"So no more Hawaiian roll recipes w/ keselowski then," one user wrote.

"Dinner rolls seems like a desperate move..," expressed another user.

On the other hand, some people congratulated JGR for its partnership with Kings Hawaiian.

"Talk about an unexpected driver/sponsor combo, nice," tweeted a fan.

"Guess I have to add sliders to my race day menu!," added another.

Joe Gibbs, the owner of JGR Racing talked about his love for the sponsor and how excited he is about the partnership between the team and the organization:

"We are thrilled to have King’s Hawaiian join our family at Joe Gibbs Racing. Their dinner rolls and other products have really become a part of the daily lives of so many families over the past 75 years and we look forward to helping them celebrate such a significant anniversary this season both on and off the track." [via racingamerica.com]

Similarly, King's Hawaiian's chief marketing officer, Raouf Moussa, admired the shared values between the two parties and praised JGR.

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How RFK Racing originally secured sponsorship from King's Hawaiian

Brad Keselowski announces the RFK Racing and King's Hawaiian partnership during a press conference at Darlington Raceway on May 08, 2022 - Source: Getty

Roush Fenway Racing and Kings Hawaiian first partnered in 2022 because they mutually desired to promote the brand's food products. By then, they had become the main sponsor for Brad Keselowski's No. 6 Ford. This partnership helped Kings Hawaiian's branding expand among NASCAR fans, making their business blossom. The team led social media campaigns for their sponsor and also did in-race promotions.

However after RFK landed another sponsorship with Kroger Co, it created business conflicts with their former sponsor. As there was a competitive edge between the two businesses, King's Hawaiian did not feel comfortable moving forward with sponsoring RFK Racing even after a huge bump in their sales. This partnership ended in 2024. Both the organizations went their separate ways, as Kroger Co continued to sponsor RFK and Kings Hawaiian had partnered up with other NASCAR teams to work within 2025.