NASCAR News: Hendrick team suing sponsor Hooters

An entity affiliated with Hendrick Motorsports is suing Hooters of America LLC for $1.7 million, plus interest, for alleged unpaid sponsorship fees.

HMS Holdings LLC filed its complaint against Hooters on July 30, according to Mecklenburg County court records. The lawsuit was filed just weeks after Hendrick Motorsports dropped Hooters as a sponsor, citing the restaurant chain’s failure to meet its financial commitments. Hooters had sponsored Chase Elliott’s No. 9 car in the NASCAR Cup Series since 2017. Hendrick Motorsports is suing Hooters for breach of contract and unjust enrichment.

Related Article: NASCAR News: Hendrick cuts ties with Hooters

The complaint states that Hooters was obligated under the sponsorship deal to pay Hendrick Motorsports four installments annually totaling $1.75 million. The 2024 payments of $437,500 each were due on March 10, June 10, Aug. 10 and Oct. 10, court records state. The NASCAR team operator alleges the company made a partial, $45,000 payment in March before failing to make the June payment.  Charlotte Business Journal

Hendrick Motorsports says that Hooters has not been able to meet its sponsorship obligations to the No. 9 team of Chase Elliott and they have ended the relationship.

The sponsorship deal with the team was scheduled to end after this year.  They were the primary sponsor for Elliott at Atlanta and Texas earlier in the year and were scheduled to sponsor the fall Richmond race.

The company has struggled recently and just announced the closure of 44 locations nationwide.