Truck Series next in line for new title sponsor
The revolving door of NASCAR title sponsors took another turn Wednesday, with the Sears Craftsman tool brand bidding adieu to the Truck Series in 2009.
The announcement means all three of NASCAR’s top racing divisions will have new sponsor identities. Earlier this year, we learned that NASCAR’s Nextel Cup and Busch series will carry new title sponsors in 2008. The Nextel Cup Series will be known as the Sprint Cup and the Busch Series will be called the Nationwide Series.
Previously, NASCAR enjoyed long runs with its series sponsors. Craftsman’s sponsorship of the Truck Series began at the series’ inception in 1995. Anheuser-Busch had sponsored the Busch Series for 26 years. Prior to Nextel’s involvement in the Cup Series in 2004, R.J. Reynolds Winston cigarette brand had sponsored the Cup Series for 32 years. Nextel Cup’s most recent name change came after Sprint merged with the cell phone company in December of 2004.
The rapid succession of series name changes in NASCAR may be confusing to fans, but you better get used to it. With many companies wanting to climb aboard the NASCAR money train and the current business climate of corporate mergers, it’s a trend that is likely to continue. A private-equity group considered a buyout of Sprint Nextel recently. Sprint Nextel, which dropped its CEO in October, is seeking outside help to build a next-generation wireless network and investors mentioned include Google and Intel. This doesn’t mean a buyout is imminent or another name change is on the horizon for NASCAR’s top series, but it does show how active things are in the business world and how fast things can change.
Nextel signed a 10-year, $750 million deal with NASCAR to sponsor its premier series in 2003.
With its contract up in NASCAR’s junior series, Anheuser-Busch was unwilling to increase its sponsorship from its estimated $10 million a year to NASCAR’s reported asking price of $25 to $30 million. While several companies showed an interest in sponsoring the series, in the end NASCAR didn’t receive anywhere near its asking price. In fact, Nationwide’s seven-year deal ended up being only in the $10-12 million range annually.
Sears officials did not say why they decided not to renew as Truck Series sponsor. The price of the Truck Series sponsorship will certainly be higher, especially after an increase in popularity and television viewership in recent years. Steve Phelps, NASCAR’s chief marketing officer, told nascar.com he expects plenty of interest from prospective Truck Series sponsors.
This year’s Craftsman Truck Series banquet, which was held after the season finale last month in Hollywood, Fla., will be televised at 9 p.m. Friday on Speed. Series champion Ron Hornaday Jr. collected a record $370,119 in point-fund money.
Chemung native Todd Bodine, who finished fourth in the standings, received $148,048 in point-fund money. That brought his 2007 season total winnings to $719,623. Bodine, who finished third in 2005 and was last year’s Truck Series champion, has $2,798,541 in career earnings in the Truck Series.
