King's Hawaiian expected to leave RFK Racing ahead of 2025 season due to conflict with new sponsor

Before the 2025 NASCAR season, King’s Hawaiian will be leaving RFK Racing as a sponsor. The two have partnered for a number of years. Fans will remember the bright orange paint schemes for their Despicable Me and Guardians of the Galaxy collaborations.

King’s Hawaiian mostly sponsored Brad Keselowski over the last three years. Now they will be moving the branding for their soft and sweet dinner rolls to another NASCAR organization.

As Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal reports the change is mostly due to the new Kroger sponsorship for RFK Racing. That deal will mean Kroger will have co-sponsored cars with many of their own vendor partners.

.@KingsHawaiian is expected to leave @RFKRacing after this year and is talking with other teams in NASCAR about a switch for 2025, per sources, stemming in part from a brand conflict with one of RFK’s new sponsors.

🗞: https://t.co/wSVAvBR4z3 pic.twitter.com/caKQYHhVFX

— Adam Stern (@A_S12) December 5, 2024

Bimbo Bakeries USA, which makes everything from English muffins to hot dog buns, Sara Lee brad, and Entenmann’s donuts and baked treats is a partner of Kroger Racing. We have seen those brands and more on the JTG Daugherty, now HYAK Motorsports, No. 47 car in the past.

According to Stern, King’s Hawaiian is searching for another NASCAR partner for 2025. However, there is a possibility that the company will leave the sport if they are unable to find a team to work with.

The owner of King’s Hawaiian is Irresistible Foods Group. That company also owns Grillo’s Pickles which is a sponsor of Front Row Motorsports and Todd Gilliland.

RFK Racing expanding, changing by the day

There are a lot of changes over at RFK Racing. They have a new third full-time team. Ryan Preece will drive the No. 60 car full-time next season. Kroger is joining as a major partner. Now they are losing another sponsor because of that deal.

I would like to see King’s Hawaiian stay in the sport. It is a recognizable brand, they create fun paint schemes and merch for fans, and it’s never good to have sponsors leaving the sport entirely. NASCAR wants more sponsors, not fewer.

Front Row Motorsports would be a totally understandable destination. Yes, they have a few longtime partners in gener8tor, Love’s, and others. But with FRM also adding a third charter (pending litigation with NASCAR) adding another sponsor can’t be a bad thing.

RFK Racing has made major moves. They are going to have to show it on the track now. Expanding means that the performance on Sundays should improve. This should make the entire organization better, not make it more difficult. We will see which one it is in a few short months.