Nascar has confirmed that its premier series will be officially known as the Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series from January 1 as part of a wide-ranging rebranding process undertaken by the North American stock-car racing series.
The announcement comes after Nascar earlier this month unveiled drinks brand Monster Energy as the new title sponsor of the series.
Monster’s multi-year naming-rights deal for the series becomes effective on January 1 and also grants it title sponsorship rights to the annual Nascar All-Star Race. Monster will also serve as the official energy drink of Nascar.
Financial terms of Monster’s deal were not disclosed at the time of the announcement, but it is reported to be worth $20m (€19.3m) per year in comparison to the annual value of $50m at the expiry of the previous contract with telecommunications company Sprint.
Nascar has also unveiled a new official brand identity which will replace the bar mark used by the sanctioning body since 1976. The Nascar brand identity has been in development since early 2016 as part of a broader effort to refresh the body’s brand.
Jill Gregory, Nascar senior vice-president and chief marketing officer, said: “It was important for us to recognise our history and implement a piece of each previous mark in the new design. Our goal was to evolve the sport’s visual identity to make it concise, relevant and functional, while respecting and maintaining the unique qualities of the original mark.”
The first points race of the 2017 Monster Energy Nascar Cup Series will be the Daytona 500, which will take place on February 26 at Daytona International Speedway in Florida.
Monster is replacing Sprint as the title sponsor of Nascar’s premier series. Sprint, which assumed the sponsorship of the Sprint Cup Series when it bought out Nextel in 2005, announced in 2014 that it would not engage Nascar in talks to renew the contract.