Can you imagine Jeff Gordon without a Dupont car or Dale Earnhardt Jr. without the iconic Bud 8 car? When NASCAR fans remember or recall the moment about their favorite drivers, they associate it with the sponsor on their race car. This only goes to show how influential and vital sponsorships are for NASCAR teams and drivers. To be frank, without them, the teams would have a hard time dealing with the ever-rising cost of racing.

This partnership works both ways, as the brands and the companies that attach themselves to the teams get significant exposure. They can leverage this association to promote their products and services, and this formula has worked out pretty well. However, with changing times, the sponsorship landscape isn’t the same, and let’s just say NASCAR is well past its golden days. The only way the NASCAR community keeps itself on track is by looking back at the history of the sport with the hopes of bringing back the glory days.

A social media post by Sonoma Raceway took the fans back in time. The post showcased the haulers, which were painted in their sponsor’s co. Someome even gave today’s livery and paint schemes a run for their money Red Bull, the US Army, Budweiser, Dewalt, Dupont, and other major NASCAR sponsors were all lined up together. “Anyone know when this photo might be from? 🤔” This was the caption of the post shared by Sonoma Raceway.

Cut to 2025 and a lot of these sponsors are disappearing or scaling back their contribution to the sport. FedEx’s gradual exit and Budweiser’s switching to Anheuser Busch have been alterations that have forever changed how fans see the car.

Fans quickly understood the assignment and started giving out answers. However, there were a few who couldn’t wrap their heads around the fact how successful and inclusive NASCAR was back in the day. This sentiment was better understood with the messages and opinions they shared in the comments section.

NASCAR fans reminisce about the good old days

It is just hard to see one major sponsor sticking by a driver for the entirety of a season. Now multiple brands share the duties of funding a race team. For example, Denny Hamlin had Sports Clip, FedEx, Yahoo, Coca-Cola, and Interstate Batteries featured as sponsors for the No. 11 JGR team. There was a time when FedEx alone would fund all 36 races. Sadly they have taken an exit from NASCAR, leaving Hamlin in search of new partners. “Back when nascar had major companies sponsor whole seasons.”

Guessing the query posted by Sonoma Raceway, a fan predicted the image could be from 2007 or the 2008 season. However, this was the last remnant of the heyday period in NASCAR, as the economic crisis of 2007-08 saw many sponsors pulling the plug on their association with stock car racing. Since then, the sponsorship model has undergone massive changes and has come nowhere near previous levels. “Pretty sure 2007. Could be 2008 but the financial crisis of 2008 was the beginning of the end of NASCAR hey day. Some of these may not have been there in 2008.”

As mentioned above, brands and companies partnering with NASCAR teams were able to tap into the massive fan base the sport had to offer. Anheuser-Busch, Dupont, Winston, Coca-Cola, Goodyear, and M&M’s are some of the iconic brands that not only saw success in terms of sales and service but became part of NASCAR history. Indeed, the single sponsor/driver combination was pretty much a hit among the racing community. “Racing was better when sponsors were business to consumer.”

The rainbow paint scheme on Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 Dupont car is indeed one of the best schemes ever. However, by the late 2000s, the company rolled out a blue paint scheme, and that certainly caught the eye of this NASCAR fan. Unfortunately, despite being associated with one of the greats of the sport, Dupont has no visibility or links to NASCAR in the modern era. “I don’t think DuPont even really exist anymore and they’re so recognizable it’s insane.”

For all the good memories and historic significance, NASCAR has the fans for long have been yearning for a major comeback of their favorite sport. While this feeling of nostalgia is good for the fans, they miss the feeling of celebrating the sport like they used to. Hopefully, the tides turn in NASCAR’s favor soon and allow the fans to relive and experience the highest of highs of stock car racing. “That pic makes me bad nostalgic 😞”

What is your favorite sponsorship driver pairing that isn’t a part of NASCAR today?