Two Odd Recent News Stories
By David G. Firestone
I’m not a regular consumer of Cracker Barrel. In the 43 years I’ve been on this planet, I’ve never been to one before. That isn’t likely to change anytime soon. So when I saw that they were redesigning their logos and restaurants, I brushed it off. I just thought this was just another example of a casual dining chain trying to get younger customers. Holy Hell, was I ever wrong!
The response to the announcement was…well…overwhelming to say the least. People were pissed at the changes. Even the President has stated he felt that they should reverse course. Even rival chains have decried the change, to the point that the CEO is walking back a little bit. Not long thereafter, Cracker Barrel reversed course, and announced that the original logo was here to stay.
Well, I can’t say I’m shocked at the outcry now that I think about it. Cracker Barrel is learning a lesson that NASCAR learned years ago. When your core demographics are older Americans and conservatives, you have to understand that they do NOT like change! Many of them are even scared of change.
Another trait that both older Americans and conservatives have is that they are fanatically loyal. That should come as no surprise. But the thing I’ve noticed is that their disloyal sides are disloyal, as their loyal sides are loyal. If alienated, they will leave in droves and NEVER come back.
NASCAR has been learning this lesson the hard way for 20 years now. Their core fan bases WERE older Americans and conservatives. When NASCAR started changing against the wishes of the core fan base, they left. They have lost millions and millions of viewers and fans and are continuing to lose fans. The summer Daytona race lost viewers for fuck’s sake!
NASCAR and Cracker Barrel have fucked around, and they found out. The worst thing any company can do is to piss off their core demographics. There is nothing wrong with going out for new customers, but it should NEVER come at the expense of their core demographics. Sometimes change is needed, but remember that the most fanatical of your clients are also some of the biggest. Keep your big fans, but find a way to find new ones without pissing off your core fans. Sadly, Cracker Barrel figured this out, NASCAR never did.
Now this isn’t really “news” but I found this, and I’ve been mesmerized by it. For those who remember, BK Racing was a NASCAR team owned by Ron Devine. According to Wikipedia:
“Like Front Row Motorsports owner Bob Jenkins, principal owner Devine’s many Burger King franchises allow him to advertise the brand on the cars when there is no outside sponsor. Prior to the 2012 Daytona 500, Burger King announced a “licensing agreement” with the team, authenticating the paint schemes of the 83 and 93 and the usage of the company’s logos, though it is unclear whether or not the company and/or franchisee Devine funds the team. According to a 2013 Autoweek article, the partnership is limited to the licensing agreement, with Burger King not sponsoring the team. The Burger King partnership includes the branding of Dr Pepper, a soft drink served at Burger King restaurants.”
Well, this partnership wasn’t very profitable. Again, according to Wikipedia:
“In August 2018, BK Racing was liquidated, with most of its assets acquired by Front Row Motorsports (FRM). Other teams, including Obaika Racing and Rick Ware Racing, also received portions of the team’s assets. FRM won the bankruptcy auction with a bid of US$2.08 million, surpassing GMS Racing’s offer of US$1.8 million. Previously, FRM had purchased a charter from BK Racing after the 2016 season for US$2 million. This transaction is the subject of a lawsuit filed by Union Bank & Trust Company, which claims ownership of the charter due to a lien at the time of sale. On December 20, 2022, team owner Devine was ordered to pay US$31 million to the trust managing BK Racing’s bankruptcy. On October 18, 2023, Devine was indicted on four counts of failing to pay payroll taxes by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Investigations revealed that some of the misused funds were used to finance the team. On January 17, 2025, an appeals court upheld the US$31 million judgment, finding that Devine used multiple corporations and family trusts as alter egos to divert approximately US$6.4 million from the team. On April 29, 2025, another appeals court upheld a separate US$2.5 million judgment. On June 11, 2025, Devine pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the 2023 payroll tax case.”
So Ron Devine is in jail, and BK Racing is dead…right? Maybe? Well, on August 25 at 10:04 PM, the BK Racing Facebook page posted this image:
If this seems odd, you have no idea. All the old content from BK Racing is still there. It’s almost like everybody forgot this Facebook page even existed. Even more perplexing is the fact that the previous posts were from 2022. Long after the corpse of BK Racing was finished off by the vultures. The post before those two. was from February 9, 2015…over TEN YEARS AGO!
I honestly have no idea who posted this, or why it was posted. I will keep paying attention, and if anything changes, I will let you know. It’s an odd little mystery.
Source cited:
The Driver Suit Blog 