NASCAR rumors: Lowe’s could return to sponsor Jimmie Johnson in limited fashion

Lowe’s might be saying ’til we meet again and not necessarily goodbye at the end of the 2018 NASCAR season.

While the 5-hour Energy departure eventually turned into the most depressing NASCAR sponsor news of 2018 since it essentially sunk Furniture Row Racing, the leader in the clubhouse up to that point was Lowe’s announcing it was leaving Hendrick Motorsports and its longtime primary sponsorship of Jimmie Johnson. Company and driver were synonymous in a way that no other pairing was in the current era of the sport, and the thought of Johnson’s No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet competing in 2019 with another logo on it was hard to wrap one’s mind around.

It also might not be completely necessary. SportsBusiness Daily (via Jayski) reports that Lowe’s could return to Hendrick Motorsports and the 48 next season “on a partial basis.” That could mean any number of things, but the guess here is that it means we’ll see Lowe’s on the hood of Johnson’s car for some of the NASCAR Cup Series races in 2019.

The article also suggests that Hendrick has had promising discussions with at least one other company about the 48, though that likely wouldn’t be for the whole slate of races anyway. It’s been widely rumored/reported that Lowe’s ponies up about $20 million a year to sponsor the car every week, so a 50/50 split might be a lot more palatable for all parties.

Even if the home improvement company cuts back a lot more than that, say, to 12 races, it will still be better than seeing Lowe’s gone from the sport altogether. There has been some good sponsorship news here and there among the body blows delivered by companies who are leaving, and Lowe’s sticking around in any capacity would be heartening. It certainly will help ease the weirdness Jimmie Johnson fans are going to experience less than 12 months from now when he’s driving with completely different colors on his Chevy.