In a historic shift for the sport, beginning in 2020 NASCAR’s premier series will be known as the NASCAR Cup Series and will feature four cornerstone brands as Premier Partners; Busch Beer, Coca-Cola®, GEICO and Xfinity.

In addition to the establishment of the Premier Partner positions, this significant shift will provide many strategic benefits to the industry, including greater activation opportunities for brands across the sport. NASCAR’s inaugural grouping of Premier Partners will play a key role in consumer marketing and fan development initiatives moving forward.

“This has been a monumental year for our sport, one highlighted by significant changes in our business model to ensure long-term viability and growth,” said Steve Phelps, NASCAR President. “As we begin this new chapter, we are joined by four incredible brands with deep-rooted histories across all levels of our sport. We are honored to have this elite group represent our NASCAR Cup Series for years to come.”

The new model includes premium assets for each Premier Partner to engage the most brand-loyal fans in sports throughout the entire season. Premier Partners will collectively own a presence connected to the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race and NASCAR All-Star Race. Additionally, all four partners will be prominently featured in multiple platforms across the sport, including integrations in broadcast, NASCAR digital and social channels, event entitlements, in-market promotions and at-track activations.

“This new model will provide our Premier Partners with a heightened level of integration and visibility across all aspects of our sport,” said Daryl Wolfe, NASCAR executive vice president and chief sales and operations officer. “Each of these partners have demonstrated their commitment to our brand-loyal fan base and we are excited about how these brands will elevate the NASCAR Cup Series.”

Busch Beer

Busch Beer returned as a NASCAR Official Partner in 2018. The deal provided the beer brand exclusive sponsorship of the Busch Pole Award, a position it will continue to maintain throughout its Premier Partnership. Additionally, Busch Beer will sponsor a NASCAR Cup Series event in 2020.

“We are continuing to evolve our presence in NASCAR because we have a significant connection to its fans and believe in the future of the sport,” said Nick Kelly, vice president partnerships, beer category and community, Anheuser-Busch. “The Premier Partner position strengthens our deep-rooted history in the sport and will provide fans with even more opportunities to enjoy a crisp, cold Busch Beer on race day.”

Anheuser-Busch’s history in NASCAR dates back decades to 1978, when it sponsored the Busch Pole Award. Additionally, Busch Beer was the “Official Beer of NASCAR” from 1988 through 1997. Beginning in 1998, Anheuser-Busch sponsored the Bud Pole Award through its Budweiser brand, which also became the “Official Beer of NASCAR” through 2007.

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola has been involved with stock car racing for 50 years and became a NASCAR Official Partner in 1998. As a Premier Partner, Coca-Cola will continue its sponsorship of both NASCAR Troops to the Track and NASCAR Salutes, the portion of the season focused on highlighting industry-wide appreciation of the U.S. Armed Forces. Coca-Cola will also continue to own race entitlements at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Daytona International Speedway. Additionally, Coca-Cola becomes the presenting sponsor of the NASCAR Cup Series regular season championship trophy. 

“Coca-Cola has a long history of successful collaboration with NASCAR and elevating our position to Premier Partner provides even more opportunity to connect fans to unforgettable experiences,” said John Mount, vice president, sports marketing, Coca-Cola North America. “Further integrating our two brands affords Coca-Cola the opportunity to build on our winning formula and contribute to the growth of the sport in the years ahead.”

The agreement further enhances Coca-Cola’s position as the “Official Soft Drink of NASCAR.” A signature part of the brand’s marketing strategy is the Coca-Cola Racing Family – an exclusive group of top drivers representing Coca-Cola who are featured across company advertising, promotions and packaging.  

GEICO

GEICO’s involvement in NASCAR spans more than a decade and the company became the “Official Insurance Provider of NASCAR” earlier this year. As one of the most fully integrated brands in the sport, GEICO will enhance its existing assets through its Premier Partnership and become the presenting partner of a season phase.

“Our affiliation with NASCAR has been successful over the past decade and expanding our role to Premier Partner was the next logical step,” said Bill Brower, assistant vice president of marketing for GEICO. “Our expanded presence will allow us to further engage the most brand-loyal fans in sports, bolster our effective marketing platform and play a prominent role in the sport in the years ahead.”

Xfinity

Comcast’s Xfinity brand entered the sport with a landmark 10-year partner agreement in 2015, positioned as the title sponsor of the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the “Official Entertainment Partner of NASCAR.” As a Premier Partner, Xfinity will maintain its Xfinity Series sponsorship, central to its NASCAR strategy. Xfinity will also sponsor the Championship 4 elimination race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs at Martinsville Speedway.

“The first five years of our partnership with NASCAR has exceeded our expectations and the season-long national platform has provided increased exposure for the Xfinity brand and allowed us to demonstrate how our products and services enhance the way race fans enjoy this great sport,” said Matt Lederer, vice president of brand partnerships, Comcast. “Given the overwhelming fan reaction and how the industry has embraced the Xfinity brand, we’re thrilled to expand upon that commitment by becoming a Premier Partner of the NASCAR Cup Series, while also continuing to showcase the young stars of the NASCAR Xfinity Series.”

Throughout the past five years, Xfinity has elevated the series “Where Names Are Made,” supporting the introduction of an elimination-style Playoffs, reenergizing the Dash 4 Cash program, reimagining how champions are celebrated at Xfinity Champion’s Day at Universal Orlando Resort and has honored charitable efforts within the industry through its prestigious Comcast Community Champion of the Year Award platform. Xfinity continues to change the way fans access the sport through its Xfinity Stream app, Xfinity X1 video and Xfinity xFi internet.

NASCAR PR

His second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship now in the record books, it was a relaxed and droll Kyle Busch who took questions from reporters on Wednesday afternoon at the Music City Center.

Aside from seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson, Busch is the only active driver with more than one title, and he took the opportunity in his post-championship trip to New York to display both trophies, with the Empire State Building as a backdrop.

“I remembered seeing Jimmie having all of his trophies laid out on the race track when he won seven at Homestead and thought that was really cool and really special,” Busch said. “I asked all the NASCAR folks, ‘So did you guys bring all the replicas down here for that?’ And they were like, ‘No, Jimmie brought all those himself, because they were all his.

“I was like, ‘Damn, the boy believed in himself, I guess.’”

But Busch wasn’t about to tempt fate by bringing the trophy he won in 2015 to Homestead before the final race.

“I was like, I did not bring the Sprint Cup trophy to Homestead, because I am not removing it from wherever the hell it is to bring it and be… I’m not saying Jimmie Johnson is conceited, but, yeah, I would be that. But it was the first time I was able to grab the other trophy and take it with, and New York was our first stop.”

On Tuesday night, Busch dropped the first puck at a Nashville Predators game, one night after not only attending but also participating in WWE Monday Night Raw at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. There, with the aid of some subterfuge from Michael Waltrip, Busch took the 24/7 championship belt from wrestler/rapper R-Truth.

“They heard we were coming and set us up and said, ‘Hey. Do you want to be part of the show?’” said Busch. “Well, all right, sure. What have you got in mind?”

Busch pinned R-Truth on the concrete outside the ring and grabbed the belt. Asked whether he had ever tried the move on brother Kurt Busch, Kyle quipped, “If I could get through (Joey) Logano’s crew, I could do it on him.”

KYLE LARSON EMPHATIC ABOUT HIS ENJOYMENT OF NASCAR RACING

Fresh from a dominant performance in USAC Midget Racing, having swept three main events in California, Kyle Larson scoffed at the notion that Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series racing isn’t just as much fun to him.

“If it was work, I wouldn’t do it,” Larson said. “I tell people all the time, yeah, the money’s great, but if I wasn’t having fun, I wouldn’t be doing this. I would have gotten out of this a long time ago. I enjoy the travel. I enjoy the race cars. I enjoy the rules changes.

“I enjoy the competition—just the lifestyle. I enjoy everything about NASCAR. People probably think, because I go back and race dirt cars, that I do it because I don’t love NASCAR, and I need to get away and do something fun, but I have fun every single weekend.”

Clearly at the top of the game on dirt, Larson hasn’t won in stock cars with the same frequency he has achieved in open-wheel cars.

But there’s a good reason for that—more variables.

“I think it’s just more situational in NASCAR,” Larson said. “There are a lot of other factors that lead into how you finish. In dirt, when you’re out there, you’re not worried about a pit stop or a double-file restart or a 500-lap race. It’s just 30 laps, and there’s a lot less stuff that can happen to affect your race, because it is so much shorter.

“You can control your own destiny a little bit better… I feel like I’ve got everything it takes to win in the Cup series. We did it in 2017. Our race cars were really good then. Our pit crew was on it. So it’s just more situational, I guess.”

STEWART-HAAS DRIVERS ADDRESS CREW CHIEF CHANGES

Champion’s Week brought news of a crew chief shakeup at Stewart-Haas Racing. Johnny Klausmeier will move from Aric Almirola’s No. 10 Ford to Clint Bowyer’s No. 14, as Mike Bugarewicz moves from Bowyer’s car to Almiorla’s.

With Mike Shiplett moving up with rookie driver Cole Custer from the NASCAR Xfinity Series to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Billy Scott, Daniel Suarez’s crew chief this year, is the odd man out at SHR. Suarez is still seeking a ride for the 2020 season.

Both Almirola and Bowyer qualified for the Playoffs this year, but neither driver won a race during the season.

“Well, I think it really just goes back to trying to be better, just trying to make the whole organization better… quite honestly, to get everybody to step up to the level of that No. 4 (Kevin Harvick) team within our four walls,” Almirola said of the personnel changes.

“They (SHR management) felt like it would be a good move to shake things up between the 14 and the 10 teams—create a new dynamic and see if that sparks some better performance.”

Bowyer agreed that goal of the moves is to find a spark.

“Success is in the people,” Bowyer said. “It’s still hard to find that chemistry. As long as I’ve been doing it, it’s all about chemistry and finding the right people and the right match to find the success on a consistent basis.

“Sometimes we’re too much the same. When I get fired up, he’s fired up. You need a little bit of that ‘opposites attract’ deal. It’s like a marriage. If you’re the same, usually sparks will fly. Eventually, one thing will lead to another and one of you is headed out.

“It never got to that,” Bowyer added, but neither team got to Victory Lane either.

KYLE BUSCH, NO. 18 JGR TEAM HEADLINE NASCAR INDUSTRY AWARDS

More than anything else—appropriately enough—Wednesday’s NASCAR Industry Awards Reception at Blake Shelton’s Ole Red was a celebration of the accomplishments of 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch and his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team.

Busch won the Sunoco Diamond Performance Award as well as the coveted Goodyear Gold Car Award, presented annually to the champion of NASCAR’s top division.

Busch won his second title and joins seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson as the only other active multiple championship winner.

“It was just a matter of time,” opined Stu Grant, Goodyear’s general manager of global racing.

Adam Stevens of the No. 18 team was honored with the Champion Crew Chief Award, also his second.

“The Playoffs came, and we never took our eyes off the prize,” Stevens said.

In addition, the No. 18 JGR pit crew was recognized with the Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Crew Award, and Mars Inc. claimed the Champion Sponsor Award.

Chris Gabehart, crew chief for JGR teammate Denny Hamlin, earned the MOOG Problem Solver of the Year Crew Chief Award.

“My rookie year has just been phenomenal, with Joe Gibbs Racing, Denny and (sponsor) Fed-Ex,” said Gabehart, who guided Hamlin to six victories and a Championship 4 appearance this season.

Denis McGlynn, president and CEO of Dover Motorsports, received the prestigious Buddy Shuman Award, which recognizes individuals and organizations that have played vital roles in ensuring the continued growth and popularity of stock car racing.

Kevin Harvick, six times the top qualifier in 2019, took home the Busch Pole Award. His sponsor, Busch Beer, was honored with the Marketing Achievement Award.

“Having Busch beer, with everything they’ve done with our car and our program, is something you don’t see a lot of,” Harvick said. “It’s always fun to win your sponsor’s award, so it’s great to keep it in the family.”

“If you can get Kevin Harvick to drive a millennial car, eat avocado toast and wear plaid in the same year, you’ve got a pretty good marketing campaign,” added Jill Gregory, NASCAR executive vice president and chief marketing officer, in introducing the marketing award.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year Daniel Hemric described his season-long battle against Ryan Preece as “a grind—and it wasn’t flashy. Neither one of us could put four or five straight weeks together.”

JGR driver Martin Truex Jr., who finished second to Busch in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, claimed the American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award.

“To be able to make passes and moves on restarts is critical, and fortunately, we were able to make some good ones this year,” Truex said.

Busch Beer, the “Official Beer of NASCAR®,” will be awarded the 2019 Marketing Achievement Award today at the NASCAR Industry Awards Reception during NASCAR Champion’s Week in Nashville.

Since returning as an Official Partner in 2018, the global brand has leveraged its Busch Pole Award platform, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing partnership and track relationships to create distinctive content throughout the season to drive fan and media engagement around the Busch Beer brand.

“We take great pride in creating new and surprising ways to engage NASCAR fans throughout the year, so being honored with this award is a special achievement for our team,” said Nick Kelly, vice president partnerships, beer category and community, Anheuser-Busch. “Our partnership with NASCAR and the industry at-large has allowed us to do what we do best, deliver creative marketing that resonates with fans and drives consumption of crisp, refreshing Busch Beer.”   

To celebrate 40 years of Busch Beer at the DAYTONA 500, Busch Beer developed the #Car2Can promotion for a chance to win one of 40 limited-edition Busch Beer cans created from Kevin Harvick’s No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. Fans watching the iconic DAYTONA 500 on FOX were given the chance to “watch and win” via an on-screen social media trivia contest using the #Car2Can promotion hashtags. The social campaign generated more than 44 thousand mentions and 67 million impressions around the DAYTONA 500.

"Busch Beer continues to successfully drive consumer engagement by creatively integrating its assets from across all levels of its NASCAR sponsorship," said Jill Gregory, executive vice president and chief marketing and content officer, NASCAR. "Hats off to our partners for galvanizing our brand-loyal fans across the season, and cheers to all they have in store for 2020."

Fortunately for the fans, Kevin Harvick not winning the 2018 Championship meant Busch Beer would design a “millennial-inspired” paint scheme for the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race. Busch Beer crowdsourced millennial phrases on Twitter to create the one-of-kind paint scheme. Fans voted for words playing on millennial culture like “yeet,” “turnt left” and “#squadgoals” to adorn the pink race car. To unveil the car’s design, Busch created digital shorts starring Harvick as he learned the meaning of the phrases featured. The full campaign garnered a total of nearly 100 million digital and social impressions.

At Talladega Superspeedway, the beer company brought back its successful Busch Flannel Ford Mustang, donning the No. 4car with an outdoor-inspired flannel look. Harvick and the No. 4 team embraced the campaign with Harvick’s firesuit, crew members’ shirts, fan display and paint-scheme all adorned in flannel. The Busch Guy, also fashioned in flannel, was present over the course of the weekend and fans were able to shop a wide variety of flannel merchandise.

As the NASCAR Playoffs heated up, Busch Beer created a slapstick campaign around Kyle Busch getting “free” advertising through its Stewart-Haas Racing sponsorship. The company went all-in on Harvick, replacing the brand “Busch” within its traditional logo with “Harvick.” Busch Beer capitalized with a strong social media campaign along with broadcast integration, fan merchandise featuring “Harvick” instead of “Busch” as well as special edition “Harvick” beers cans that were sold in concession stands.

In addition to its sponsored Busch Pole Awards, which saw 14 different pole winners this season, Busch Beer incorporated tune-in messaging throughout all its programs. The beer company also included its “Official Beer of NASCAR” designation on all its national point of sale.

This is the first time Anheuser-Busch has been awarded the NASCAR Marketing Achievement Award. Previous winners include: Comcast; Coca-Cola; Fox Sports and NBC Sports; Mars, Incorporated; Mobil 1; and Toyota.

NASCAR’s Champion’s Week in Nashville will conclude with the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series™ Awards Thursday, Dec. 5 at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN. For more information, please visit championsweek.nascar.com.

NASCAR PR

NBC Sports surrounds NASCAR Champion’s Week in Nashville, Tenn., this week, highlighted by coverage of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Awards this Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

NASCAR on NBC’s Rutledge Wood and country singer Cassadee Pope will host Thursday evening’s program on NBCSN from the Music City Center in Nashville, Tenn., honoring 2019 Monster Energy Cup Series champion Kyle Busch. NBC Sports NASCAR pit reporters Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast will conduct interviews with NASCAR legends and celebrities in attendance, along with all 16 NASCAR Cup Series playoff drivers.

NASCAR takes over downtown Nashville tonight with a special NASCAR America Burnouts on Broadway telecast tonight at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, following Wednesday Night Hockey coverage. Dovetailing off of NASCAR’s show-stopping Burnout Boulevard event to kick off the Playoffs in Las Vegas, Burnouts on Broadway will feature all 16 of this year’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoff drivers as they show off their moves under the neon lights of Music City.

Kelli Stavast and Parker Kligerman will host Wednesday night’s NASCAR America Burnouts on Broadway. Country music singer Tim Dugger will serve as the Grand Marshall for the event and provide commentary alongside Stavast and Kligerman. The program will also re-air on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET leading into the Awards program at 8 p.m. ET.

NBC Sports is celebrating NASCAR Champion’s Week with driver integrations in Nashville on WWE Raw and NHL coverage on NBCSN.

• WWE Raw – Kyle Busch won the WWE “24/7” Championship on WWE Raw on USA Network as he took down R-Truth, with a helping hand from NASCAR legend Michael Waltrip.
• NHL on NBCSN – Kyle Busch and Joey Logano joined NBC Sports’ NHL coverage on Tuesday night, featuring the Tampa Bay Lightning and Nashville Predators in Nashville.  Busch joined ‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst Pierre McGuire during pre-game coverage. Logano went ‘Inside-the-Glass’ with McGuire during second period coverage and shared the story of meeting his wife while working at a local hockey rink.

NBC Sports PR

Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) has announced the 2020 crew chief lineup for its four NASCAR Cup Series teams.

The most notable change is the promotion of crew chief Mike Shiplett to the No. 41 team. SHR brings Shiplett up from its NASCAR Xfinity Series program where he spent the 2019 season guiding Cole Custer to a career-high seven wins and six poles with a runner-up finish in the championship standings. Shiplett will be paired with Custer again in 2020 as the 21-year-old Custer runs for rookie-of-the year honors

Crew chiefs John Klausmeier and Mike “Buga” Bugarewicz will swap teams, with Klausmeier going to the No. 14 team of Clint Bowyer and Bugarewicz going to the No. 10 team of Aric Almirola.

Klausmeier has been the No. 10 crew chief since 2018, where he and Almirola combined for 29 top-10 finishes, highlighted by a victory on Oct. 14, 2018 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. The duo made the NASCAR Playoffs in each of their two seasons together, with Almirola finishing a career-best fifth in the 2018 championship.

Bugarewicz has led the No. 14 team since 2016, where he was Tony Stewart’s crew chief for his last NASCAR season before being paired with Bowyer in 2017. Bugarewicz helped Stewart secure his 49th and final NASCAR Cup Series victory at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway and continued winning with Bowyer, securing two victories in 2018 – March 26 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway and June 10 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn – as part of a three-year stint that garnered 47 top-10s and two appearances in the NASCAR Playoffs.

Rodney Childers returns as Kevin Harvick’s crew chief with the No. 4 team for the seventh straight year. Since joining forces in 2014, Childers and Harvick have combined to produce 26 victories, 25 poles, 106 top-five finishes and 153 top-10s. They have led 9,608 laps and made the Championship 4 five times in the last six years. They won the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series title and have finished runner-up twice, to 2015 champion Kyle Busch and to 2018 champion Joey Logano.

“Our biggest asset at Stewart-Haas Racing is our people, and we strive to put each person in the best position to succeed,” said Greg Zipadelli, Vice President of Competition, SHR. “Our driver/crew chief pairings for next season reflect this ideology, and we believe this lineup provides the best opportunity to win every time we unload our Ford Mustangs at the racetrack.”

SHR PR