As a NASCAR diehard, you’ll definitely remember how the 1990s and the 2000s were all about Beer War-related rivalries on the racetrack. Budweiser, Miller Lite, Coors Light, and Busch Beer, you name it, and each brand would be backing opposing teams and drivers. In fact, Rusty Wallace, who was backed by Miller, even laid bare how tense the competition was among the beer moguls: “They hate each other. Budweiser hates Miller, and Miller hates Budweiser.” That was the culture, but as the sport evolves, so do the rules, and this time it’s Michael Jordan and 23XI Racing pushing that change.

Turns out that Rockstar Energy is officially joining 23XI Racing as a primary sponsor for Tyler Reddick. The brand is literally returning to NASCAR after taking a hiatus of 12 years. On its own this is a big story itself, but the real story is how it fits into 23XI  larger structure.

Jordan has somehow leveraged his $3.8 billion net worth and the global gravity to make sure that rivals exist. Not long ago, Kurt Busch had gotten Monster Energy to the team, and even after his career-ending injury, 23XI retained the brand by shifting it to Reddick. Even today Monster is there, except he is there with Riley Herbst. But that’s not all.

Meanwhile, Celsius is backing Corey Heim, and Coca-Cola is tied to Bubba Wallace. And now Rockstar is stepping in not as a replacement for any one of them but as an add-on. Multiple beverage brands are competing in one team. This kind of overlap would be unthinkable in the previous eras. But now it’s structured rather intentionally. President Steve Lauletta explained it in the best way.

“We have other categories that apply a particular entry or driver, like Monster is with Riley, now Rockstar is with Tyler and Coke is with Bubba and Celsius is with Corey—so they’re really built off what the partner needs, and that allows us to align the right asset with the right partner.”

Meanwhile, Rockstar’s own return reflects a shift in their strategy as well. The least full NASCAR run they had was in 2014. This time the sensible move truly is with Reddick. He is the points leader in the Cup Series, which comes on the back of 4 wins, including the Daytona 500 triumph. Interestingly, this deal with Rockstar began after the Daytona 500 victory.

“Joining Rockstar Energy now is the right fit for both of us,” Reddick said. “From day one, it was clear we share that winner-take-all attitude. I’m fired up to rep the yellow star with the No. 45 team and bring Rockstar to victory lane this season.”

However, Rockstar Energy is still not returning with a full-time sponsorship. This is something that they did back in 2014 and haven’t repeated since.

When Rockstar Energy last sponsored a driver full-time

Back in 2014, Dylan Kwasniewski was one of the emerging drivers in the sport. Building up to his O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (then called the Xfinity Series) debut, he had already managed to pull in quite a few impressive results. This included both the ARCA Menards East and West Series championships (then called the K&N Pro Series). Interestingly enough, he continues to be the only driver to have won both championships.

He made his Xfinity debut with Turner Scott Motorsports, running a full-time season for the team, backed by Rockstar Energy. He clinched a few top 10 finishes in his debut season and was usually battling in the midfield. Although he wasn’t as dominant as some of the other drivers in the series at the time, he was still promising.

However, that turned out to be his final full-time NASCAR run. After the end of the season, he and Rockstar Energy failed to reach an agreement, and the brand ended its partnership with Kwasniewski. As a result, he did not acquire a full-time seat and ran a few races for Obaika Racing, putting a passive end to his NASCAR career.

While he has never returned to the sport since, Rockstar Energy has now done that with Tyler Reddick. While the exact details of their partnership have not been revealed, this is still a massive return for the brand as Michael Jordan’s operation seems to be taking the lead for the championship this season.