How Sunoco’s Return as Ganassi’s Primary INDYCAR Partner From 2026 At Sunoco (SUN) Has Changed Its Investment Story

• Sunoco has announced it will return to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES as a full-time primary partner with Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 8 Honda driven by Kyffin Simpson from 2026 under a multi-year agreement, marking its first full-season primary sponsorship in INDYCAR since 1973.
• This move deepens Sunoco’s motorsports presence, tying its Top Tier fuel brand to one of open-wheel racing’s most successful teams and reinforcing its profile across all Chip Ganassi Racing entries for all 17 races.
• We’ll now examine how Sunoco’s multi-year Chip Ganassi Racing partnership could influence its investment narrative and long-term brand positioning.

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Sunoco Investment Narrative Recap

To own Sunoco, you generally need to believe in the durability of U.S. fuel distribution, the company’s ability to consolidate a fragmented market, and its discipline in managing leverage after recent acquisitions. The INDYCAR partnership meaningfully supports brand visibility but does not change the near term earnings drivers, which remain centered on integrating NuStar and the Parkland assets while managing balance sheet risk and exposure to gradually softening gasoline demand.

Among recent developments, the extensive financing activity around the Parkland acquisition is most relevant here, because it underlines how Sunoco is leaning into scale to offset long term volume and margin pressures. While the INDYCAR deal enhances the Top Tier fuel brand with motorsports credibility, the more important catalyst for the equity story is whether Parkland and NuStar can be integrated efficiently enough to support earnings and service higher interest costs.

Yet investors should also weigh how higher leverage could limit flexibility if fuel demand weakens faster than expected...

Read the full narrative on Sunoco (it's free!)

Sunoco's narrative projects $26.7 billion revenue and $1.6 billion earnings by 2028.

Uncover how Sunoco's forecasts yield a $64.71 fair value, a 24% upside to its current price.

Exploring Other Perspectives

Five Simply Wall St Community fair value estimates for Sunoco span roughly US$32 to over US$3,400 per unit, showing just how far opinions can stretch. Against that backdrop, the key risk many overlook is Sunoco’s heavy reliance on fossil fuel distribution, which could matter more over time than any single sponsorship or acquisition when you think about the company’s long run earnings power.

Explore 5 other fair value estimates on Sunoco - why the stock might be a potential multi-bagger!

Build Your Own Sunoco Narrative

Disagree with existing narratives? Create your own in under 3 minutes - extraordinary investment returns rarely come from following the herd.

• A great starting point for your Sunoco research is our analysis highlighting 3 key rewards and 4 important warning signs that could impact your investment decision.
• Our free Sunoco research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual - the Snowflake - making it easy to evaluate Sunoco's overall financial health at a glance.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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