UNKNOWN — 1981: Car owner Harry Ranier picked up sponsorship from Hardee’s Restaurants, beginning with the World 600 NASCAR Cup race at the Charlotte (NC) Motor Speedway in May, which his driver Bobby Allison promptly won. The team scored two more victories for Hardee’s at Michigan and Riverside later in the season. (Photo by ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images)
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An iconic brand is returning to NASCAR, and for longtime fans, the ones who remember when drivers wore open-face helmets, sponsorships came with ashtrays, and nobody pretended the sport was anything other than loud, smoky and unapologetically American, it lands as some of the most welcome news since North Wilkesboro Speedway clawed its way back from the dead.
Hardee’s, the fast-food chain that has spent decades anchoring exits off Southern interstates, is officially back in NASCAR. And not quietly, either. NASCAR announced Wednesday that Hardee’s has been named the Official Quick Service Restaurant of NASCAR and will be stepping in as a primary partner with 23XI Racing, Bubba Wallace, and the No. 23 team.
In doing so, Hardee’s becomes the first QSR brand to take a serious swing at NASCAR since Checkers/Rally’s exited the sport after the 2008 season. A nearly two-decade gap that says plenty about how cautious fast-food brands have been with stock car racing in recent years, and how notable it is that one of the sport’s most recognizable legacy sponsors is ready to dive back in.
For older fans, Hardee’s doesn’t need an introduction. During the 1980s, the brand’s logo was a regular sight on some of the most important cars in the garage, attached to names that still carry weight decades later: Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough, Dale Jarrett, and most famously Alan Kulwicki. This wasn’t a toe-in-the-water sponsorship, either. Hardee’s cars won 12 NASCAR Cup Series races, with Yarborough accounting for nine of them, including consecutive Daytona 500 victories in 1983 and 1984.
Hardee’s even managed the rare crossover into Hollywood immortality, appearing on a Cup car in Days of Thunder, back when NASCAR movies were allowed to be ridiculous and Tom Cruise was allowed to drive something other than a fighter jet.
Tom Cruise at the racetrack ready to drive in a scene from the film ‘Days of Thunder’, 1990. (Photo by Paramount Pictures/Getty Images)
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By the 1990s, Hardee’s faded from the NASCAR landscape, drifting away as the sport modernized, consolidated, and gradually replaced familiar brands with newer, shinier corporate names. They did make a one-off appearance in 2008 but have been silent since then.
Its return now comes at a very different time in NASCAR, into a world that’s more polished, more strategic, and far more conscious of brand storytelling than the freewheeling garage culture of the past.
This partnership isn’t limited to a logo on a racecar. Hardee’s will appear prominently on Wallace’s firesuit and will be activated at NASCAR events throughout the season, making the brand part of the fan experience rather than just background scenery on television broadcasts.
“Hardee’s is an American classic with deep roots in our sport, and its return represents more than a new partnership — it symbolizes the power and appeal of NASCAR’s heritage,” said Craig Stimmel, NASCAR’s Chief Commercial Officer. “As more legacy brands look to NASCAR to connect with loyal, multigenerational fanbases, Hardee’s stands out as a partner that understands the passion, tradition, and energy that fuel our community.”
For 23XI Racing, the move marks a shift away from McDonald’s, which had been part of the team since its founding in 2021. The Golden Arches brought mainstream recognition, but their presence had gradually softened, making room for a brand that feels more rooted in NASCAR’s past, and perhaps more comfortable leaning into it.
“NASCAR is built on legacy, and Hardee’s has been part of some of the most iconic moments in our sport’s history,” Wallace said. “To bring that history forward with 23XI is really special. Fans know the Hardee’s paint schemes of the past, and I’m excited to help create some new memories for longtime and newer fans.”
There’s something fitting about this partnership. NASCAR has spent the last few years reconnecting with its past, reopening historic tracks, reviving old ideas, and reminding fans why they fell in love with the sport in the first place. Hardee’s return fits neatly into that broader narrative. It’s familiar without being stale, nostalgic without feeling stuck in the past.
And in a sport where authenticity still matters, where fans can spot a forced marketing play from a mile away, Hardee’s doesn’t feel like a brand borrowing NASCAR’s credibility. It feels like one reclaiming it.