2026 Silly Season

[wi_racefan]

So you are trying to say that 23XI wouldn't have sponsorship opportunities of their own for their drivers or something else you have no idea about?

Bubba brought a lot with him at the time he left Petty to head to 23XI. Heck I believe there was even a brief lawsuit over one of them. He brought DoorDash, McDonald's, Columbia Sportswear, Dr Pepper, and Root Insurance with him when he left.

 

[StandOnIt]

Bubba brought a lot with him at the time he left Petty to head to 23XI. Heck I believe there was even a brief lawsuit over one of them. He brought DoorDash, McDonald's, Columbia Sportswear, Dr Pepper, and Root Insurance with him when he left.

Have any of these sponsors said because of publicity?

 

[Blaze]

Have any of these sponsors said because of publicity?

Where I don't agree with Wi, I doubt a sponsor would ever even admit something like that.

 

[StandOnIt]

Where I don't agree with Wi, I doubt a sponsor would ever even admit something like that.

Exactly there isn't any proof to any of that opinion.
Wallace appears this year to have better sponsorship than he had previously.

 

[Blaze]

Exactly there isn't any proof to any of that opinion.

Yeah, there's no proof either way. So he can have his opinion, and you can have yours.

 

[StandOnIt]

Yeah, there's no proof either way. So he can have his opinion, and you can have yours.

So why are you in the middle of it then?

 

[Blaze]

So why are you in the middle of it then?

Was helping to keep the peace is all.

 

[MRM]

Motorsports sponsorship is getting harder to come by with each passing day. A lot of businesses and companies are spending their money on the successful people or not getting involved period. I've seen a local tracks, regional series and racers having a difficult getting any sponsors. For Bubba losing McDonald's, it's more of the companies changing their spending habits than it is anything person with Bubba.

 

[BarneyB1]

Yeah, there's no proof either way. So he can have his opinion, and you can have yours.

Now come on....You know thats not the way SOI works.

 

[StandOnIt]

Now come on....You know thats not the way SOI works.

How do I work?

 

[Charlie Spencer]

Was helping to keep the peace is all.

I gave that up for the new year.

 

[Charlie Spencer]

How do I work?

You work?

 

[hmmm298]

How do I work?

Smarter, never harder?

 

[Greg]

Well, at the end of the day, I am very, very sure that Bubba Wallace's future is secure with 23XI.

Note to self: It is actually not the end of the day, more like 3:15 a.m.
How am I so confident about Bubba's future? Because I asked AI, and that is what it said.

Based on reports as of January 2026, Bubba Wallace’s ride with 23XI Racing appears secure for the upcoming season, with the team finalizing new sponsorship, including a multi-year deal with Hardee's and an expanded partnership with Xfinity for 2026....

Contract Status: Reports from early 2026 indicate that 23XI Racing announced a multi-year contract extension with Wallace, keeping him in the No. 23 Toyota Camry.
Sponsorship Update: While long-time partner McDonald's departed, 23XI secured Hardee's as a new primary partner for the No. 23 team for 2026. Furthermore, Xfinity has expanded its partnership with 23XI for 2026, becoming a major sponsor for Wallace..

Performance & Future: Wallace has been with 23XI since its inception in 2021 and is recognized for helping to build the team....

 

[wi_racefan]

The whole Chris Gabehart thing is still strange. Guess he was no where to be seen at the NW test.

If I had to guess JGR must be holding him to a non-compete.

 

[Revman]

You can say or call it what you want, but the political climate at the time he moved to 23XI granted him the opportunity to a lot more sponsorship than he previously had. You can't blame Bubba for taking advantage of the situation that was presented to him. Now he took that and made something of it and it a multiple time winner in the cup series. Those wins have allowed him to market himself as a proven winner now.

....or, I don't know, he was aligned with the greatest basketball player of all time.....in addition to the fact that is a great driver, but you want this to be about race and a political climate that challenged how the sport (and society) have treated people of color. The passive/aggressive acknowledgment of Bubba's talent is really crappy man. Let it go.

 

[Revman]

The whole Chris Gabehart thing is still strange. Guess he was no where to be seen at the NW test.

If I had to guess JGR must be holding him to a non-compete.

Yep, I don't like the way this looks and feels.....I have been a staunch supporter of JGR, but this smells really bad. I don't mind Coach giving Ty more time than most because he is a the grandkid, but I have a huge problem if Ty and Heather are the straws stirring the drink. HUGE problem.....I have spoken to this before....Toyota signed Legacy as a stand alone against the wishes of JGR.....that seemed interesting to me at the time, and makes even more sense now. Just sayin'....Legacy is building a championship infrastructure.

 

[wi_racefan]

Yep, I don't like the way this looks and feels.....I have been a staunch supporter of JGR, but this smells really bad. I don't mind Coach giving Ty more time than most because he is a the grandkid, but I have a huge problem if Ty and Heather are the straws stirring the drink. HUGE problem.....I have spoken to this before....Toyota signed Legacy as a stand alone against the wishes of JGR.....that seemed interesting to me at the time, and makes even more sense now. Just sayin'....Legacy is building a championship infrastructure.

If he was canned, and that's a big IF, and they're still holding a non-compete against him that sucks. I've dealt with these things a few times in the past and typically there is always a way to get out of them, but sometimes you'll spend more than it's worth doing it. JGR has always seemed to put themselves above everyone else when it comes to the legal side. I mean when is the last you heard of a driver leaving JGR and taking any sponsorship with them?