NASCAR to rename series Sprint Cup

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Vern Demerest

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NASCAR to rename series Sprint Cup

By Marty Smith
ESPN.com

Beginning with the 2008 season, Sprint will replace Nextel as title sponsor of NASCAR's premiere racing series, multiple high-ranking industry sources told ESPN.com on condition of anonymity.

The series will be known as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, sources said.

NASCAR declined comment.

Dean Kessel, Sprint's NASCAR marketing director, denied the claims, and said Sprint/Nextel is still sorting the proposition out with NASCAR. Kessel also said that multiple outstanding details must be finalized internally before a decision can be made either way.

This would mark the third time in four seasons NASCAR's Cup Series experienced a sponsorship-based name change.

From 1972-2003, the Cup Series was sponsored by R.J. Reynolds tobacco through its Winston cigarette brand. Then, starting in 2004, Nextel assumed the naming rights to the most popular racing series in America.

Sprint and Nextel agreed to a $36 billion merger in December 2004

WINSTON WHERE ARE YOU, I can't keep track!
 
I expected this and I also predict that Nextel/Sprint will not make it through the entire 10 year contract before they take a hike. The communication business is a strange one as witnessed with the various mergers. Even if they don't split the scene, I don't think that after the original contract, they will stay. So, before the year 2014, look for NASCAR to shop around for a new series sponsor.

On a side note, when something has a long standing relationship with something we are interested in, it sort of bonds with us, ala Winston with NASCAR. It doesn't matter who the sponsor was, we'd still be missing it today with the way things are going. Plenty of different events have changed names over the years and just think of the different names the various races have used.
 
Buckaroo's post made me think of Jimmy Spencer. Remember when the "humpback" sponsored him. :)
 
Name Change Rumors Denied
By Greg Engle, Editor Cup Scene Daily

Dean Kessel, Sprint's marketing director, publicly denied Wednesday rumors that NASCAR’s Nextel Cup series would be renamed to the Sprint Cup Series in 2008. Late Wednesday NASCAR also said no decision has been made.

According to ESPN.com, Sprint will replace Nextel as NASCAR's title sponsor for its top series beginning in 2008. The website reported that ‘multiple high-ranking sources’, ‘speaking on the condition of anonymity’, have confirmed the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series will become the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series next season.

Kessel said that Sprint/Nextel is still sorting out the proposition with NASCAR.

NASCAR also told USA Today that it was news to them.

“To my knowledge, no final decision has been made," said Ramsey Poston, NASCAR's managing director of corporate communications. "If that's the direction they want to go, we (NASCAR) would be supportive of that."

USA TODAY also reported that the topic of changing the NASCAR series name did not come up at Wednesday's corporate communications meeting.

In December 2004, well after Nextel had signed its multi-year deal with NASCAR, Sprint bought out the company for $35 billion, thus making Sprint/Nextel the country's third-largest wireless carrier at the time.

Since the acquisition, there have been talks and discussions about a potential name change in NASCAR's elite series, but nothing has been officially announced nor does there appear to be an announcement imminent.

Any potential name change would require significant lead-time in order to allow for NASCAR’s tracks and advertisers to change signage and prepare new advertising materials.

Four years ago Nextel took over what had been known as the Winston Cup Series for 31 years. The Winston Cup Series, was sponsored by R.J. Reynolds.
 
This is going to happen. Sprint is acquiring Nextel. And I'm pretty sure that Nascar's contract with Nextel expressly provides that the name can be changed 1 time. I believe that is the case at least.
 
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