With Tylenol becoming the official pain reliever of NASCAR next year, the sport pushes aside its longest-running non-automotive sponsor and a staple of the South, Goody’s Headache Powders.

While NASCAR continues to shed its southern roots by partnering with a well-known national brand, the move wasn’t exactly easy to stomach for a company that has been a part of the fabric of the sport for 29 years. Richard Petty is Goody’s longtime spokesman and Tony Stewart appears in its ads. The company sponsors races and fans can win prizes for voting for the driver who endured the “Goody’s Headache of the Race” each week.

“Let’s just say, while we’re disappointed NASCAR decided to go in a different direction, we’re not upset, we’re not angry,” said Darren Singer, Goody’s vice president of marketing. “The fact that Goody’s will not be the official pain reliever of NASCAR, we will continue to be the favorite of the fans.”

Singer vowed the company will continue to have a presence in NASCAR: “We would never turn our back on our fans.”

Although it loses “official” status, Goody’s can still sponsor cars and recently signed a three-year deal to title sponsor the Goody’s 500, the Nextel Cup race in Martinsville, Va., starting next year.

Tylenol entered NASCAR last year with its Team Tylenol advertising campaign that features drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson and Elliott Sadler. Now it will be able to use the NASCAR name and logo and will have a presence in the Nextel Cup, Busch, and Craftsman Truck series.