The Home Depot is ending its sponsorship of the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 car and will leave the sport when its contract expires after this season, according to a report in the June 23-29 issue of the SportsBusiness Journal.

The move is not surprising as The Home Depot has sold off a number of races to Dollar General in the last few years. This season, Dollar General is the primary sponsor for 27 of the 38 events for driver Matt Kenseth.

The Home Depot began sponsoring cars with the team in 1999 with Tony Stewart. It sponsored Joey Logano from 2009-2012 and then Kenseth the last two seasons with the Husky brand as the primary logo for most of the Home Depot-sponsored races.

Home Depot has been on the #20 Car since 1999
Home Depot has been on the #20 JGR Car since 1999

A Joe Gibbs Racing spokesman said the team would have no comment on the report. The Home Depot had incredible success with Stewart, winning two Cup titles, but has been beaten on the track by Lowe’s-sponsored driver Jimmie Johnson (six titles) and also has had a change in marketing management over the past three years. It has steadily decreased its NASCAR spend over the last three seasons, cutting back each year the number of races where it was the primary sponsor.

The Home Depot departure, while expected, puts another wrinkle in the anticipated growth of Joe Gibbs Racing. Team officials have consistently refused to comment on whether it will expand to four cars next year with driver Carl Edwards joining the organization.

It is possible that Dollar General could pick up more races, according to the SBJ report.

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