Hooters decals removed from Chase Elliott's car amid nationwide store closures

NASCAR fans have noticed that Hooters decals have been removed from Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet for Sunday’s Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.

In addition, Hooters no longer appears on the Hendrick Motorsports partner page on its website and the Hooters Racing URL now redirects back to the restaurant’s homepage. This comes less than a week after at least 44 Hooters restaurants across 14 states permanently closed due to “pressure from current market conditions,” the chain told USA TODAY.

Has Hooters broken off its partnership with Elliott and Hendrick? That could very well be the case, bringing an end to an era. Elliott is slated to use the Hooters paint scheme one more time this season at Richmond in August, though it remains to be seen if it happens.

Chase Elliott, Hooters partnership dates back nearly a decade

For the past eight years, Hooters has served as a primary sponsor for Elliott. In 2021, it extended its sponsorship of Elliott through 2024. Beyond Elliott, Hooters’ involvement with NASCAR dates back to more than three decades ago. Hooters served as the full-time sponsor for Alan Kulwicki during his championship winning season in 1992.

Elliott’s lone win this season (Texas) came in a race in which Hooters served as his primary paint scheme. It was his first win using the Hooters paint scheme and the first for Hooters since that 1992 campaign.

“Hooters has been a great partner of ours for a number of years now,” Elliott said. “And it’s been a dream to pay respect to Alan Kulwicki. And do a ‘Polish victory lap’ in the Hooters colors. That’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time and have just not had the opportunity to do that. Came close a few times.

“As soon as the race was over, I was like, ‘Man, we finally got our opportunity to do it and pay respect to him and the partnership.'”