NASCAR has a few business things to tidy up throughout the offseason, including the TV deal, however, one other thing is the sponsorship for their second-tier racing series, the Xfinity Series. According to Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal, Xfinity is at the end of a 10-year agreement to be the title sponsor of the series, and it is unknown whether or not they will renew. If Xfinity leaves, how could NASCAR rebrand the second-tier series?
One option would be to simply bring in another title sponsor. There would be some easy options for that being the other three of NASCAR’s four key partners that help sponsor the Cup Series. That would be Busch, Coca-Cola, and Geico. Some fans have already thought about Busch given they sponsored the series from its inception in 1982 until 2007.
Coca-Cola has sponsored NASCAR’s iRacing series, so, they have some experience with title sponsorship. Geico has never done so before, but, if they want to dip their toe into it, this is the time to do it. However, does a title sponsor need to be in the Xfinity Series?
The Cup Series went away from the traditional title sponsorship model in 2020, opting instead for the current model. The former NASCAR Pinty’s Series also just went through a similar change, rechristening the division as the NASCAR Canada Series. Pinty’s stayed on as a presenting partner.
However, the Xfinity Series has some reason to stay as a title sponsor. While the Cup Series and the Craftsman Truck Series have brands through the simple words, Cup and Trucks, Xfinity does not have that. When people talk about the second-tier series, all they can say to identify it is the Xfinity Series.
There is nothing else there to identify the series other than the title sponsor. That gives NASCAR an incentive to keep some sort of a title sponsor. However, do they have to?
The NASCAR Xfinity Series has had other monikers to describe it before, similar to what “Cup” means to the Cup Series and what “Trucks” means to the Craftsman Truck Series. One option NASCAR has should they not go with a title sponsor would be to bring back one of these monikers.
The “NASCAR Sportsman Series”
The predecessor to the NASCAR Busch Series began its’ life in 1950 as the “NASCAR Late Model Sportsman Division”. According to David Green of the old “that’s racin” blog, the original Sportsman cars could be slightly modified as they were not as new as the “Strictly Stock” cars, but, they could not get quite as creative as the “Modified” division. It was sort of an in-between series, and it often was a companion series to Cup Series events.
However, in 1982, the series rebranded into the “NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series”. This was the beginning of the modern Xfinity Series. NASCAR does not use late models to describe the Cup or Xfinity Series, so, they could go back to the “Sportsman” moniker. Obviously, it is not the same series as it was back in 1982. However, it does give the second series a moniker to separate itself from a title sponsor that may leave the series.
The “NASCAR Grand National Series”
In 1984, the series was rebranded once again. This time, it was the “NASCAR Busch Grand National Series”. This name was an homage to what the Cup Series used to be called from 1950 until Winston came in in 1972.
If they went this route, then it would be a moniker that some fans may remember from NASCAR’s boom in the late 1990s and early 2000s. However, calling a second-tier series the “Grand National” series is strange. It makes the series look like the top level of the sport, which the Xfinity Series is not.
The NASCAR “Cup Lights” or “Cup 2” Series
These two names are inspired by the current racing series. IndyCar’s current feeder series, “Indy NXT”, used to be branded “IndyLights”. It was a way to separate the two divisions, while keeping Indy in the name, making no mistake which series this feeds into. NASCAR could do this as well, but, it could be seen as unoriginal along with it being tough to roll off the tongue.
NASCAR’s European division has a second-tier series that they simply call “EuroNASCAR 2”. NASCAR could slap a “2” next to Cup to allow the series to clearly be designated as the second-tier series. However, this also has trouble rolling off the tongue, and it may be considered an insult to some drivers who have made careers out of the series to have the moniker attached to their racing series.
At the end of the day, time will tell how Xfinity continues to support NASCAR. Will there be a new name for the NASCAR Xfinity Series in the near future?
