Hooters Settles Lawsuit with NASCAR Team Amid Financial Struggles

Hooters has agreed to pay Hendrick Motorsports nearly a million dollars after the NASCAR team sued the franchise last summer over unpaid sponsorship dues.

It was a tough year for Hooters in 2024, with the chain closing several locations while facing a lawsuit from one of NASCAR's flagship teams. While I'm sure the chain was hoping for an improvement in the new year, it looks like such results are yet to be seen. The financial struggles have continued into 2025, with news outlets reporting that Hooters could soon be filing for bankruptcy.

Hooters Faces Major Struggles

Reports noted that more than 20% of Hooters' outstanding bills were over 90 days overdue last year. Additionally, the company was apparently taking about four times longer to pay its vendors than the average restaurant chain during that same period. As of March 2025, however, it now appears that the chain has managed to settle at least one of its larger debts.

Hendrick Motorsports vs. Hooters

We previously reported in August 2024 that Hendrick Motorsports filed a lawsuit against Hooters, claiming the chain didn’t pay up on their sponsorship of Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet. Hooters had allegedly made one payment of $45,000 in March 2024, but no other payments had been made thereafter. Hendrick Motorsports was suing to recover the money from the rest of the contract, which amounted to $1.705 million.

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Hooters Lawsuit Officially Settled

According to Nation's Restaurant News, Hooters has agreed to pay $900,000 to Hendrick Motorsports in an effort to settle the lawsuit filed last summer. The amount is just a little more than half of what Hendrick Motorsports was hoping to secure, but it looks like both sides were ready to put the matter behind them. The lawsuit has no doubt officially put an end to the partnership that dates back to 2017.