• by Tanya Gazdik , Yesterday

As Americans gear up for one of the busiest travel weekends of the summer, Carl’s Jr. is daring its customers to “pass on Jack” and keep the wheels rolling to a Carl’s Jr. instead. 

From now until June 30, drivers who show their loyalty and have proof of driving past a Jack in the Box to eat at a Carl’s Jr. can earn a free Sourdough Star in their MyRewards app, according to the playful challenge.

Customers can claim their reward by uploading a photo, screenshot of a GPS route, or any other proof that they kept driving past a Jack in the Box to reach a Carl’s Jr.

“Fast-food customers have been cutting back on their restaurant visits, which has intensified the industry’s competitiveness, leading to major shifts in customer visits from one competitor to the other,” according to Nation’s Restaurant News. “And there’s little question that Carl’s and Jack in the Box are big rivals. Robert Peterson opened the first Jack in the Box in San Diego in 1951 and the chain is still based there. Carl and Margaret Karcher opened the first Carl’s Jr. in Anaheim five years later, though they’d operated a hot dog cart and a barbecue restaurant before then.”

Both chains have struggled in recent years as consumers have cut back on fast-food visits.

“Carl’s Jr. is throwing hands at Jack In The Box in a hilarious way,” according to Sporked. “We’d love to know what Jack In The Box thinks of this one.”

The U.S. Sun calls it “an unorthodox promotion.” If nothing else it appears that Carl is kicking Jack when he’s down.  

“Jack in the Box announced at the end of last year that it would close hundreds of locations,” according to The U.S. Sun. “These restaurants were seen as underperforming, and Jack in the Box reported declining sales figures at the time.”

This isn’t the first time the two chains or their siblings have gone at it. 

“Over the years, the San Diego-based chain Jack in the Box garnered a reputation for mercilessly targeting its rivals via attack ads," according to Tasting Table.“In 2007, these tactics finally pushed another chain too far and led to a bitter lawsuit being launched by Hardee's, which claimed that one tongue-in-cheek commercial from Jack in the Box implied that Hardee's Angus beef was of a distinctly unsavory provenance.”

Hardee’s and Carl’s are both owned by CKE Restaurants Inc., which filed a lawsuit against Jack in the Box in May 2007.