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Nextel-Cup to Sprint Cup Series for NASCAR in 2008
By Audrey Nolan
NASCAR and Sprint officials announced Saturday that NASCAR's top series will change its name next season from Nextel Cup to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2008.
Nextel's merger with Sprint was completed in 2005, one year after Nextel replaced Winston as the title sponsor of the Cup series. Sprint is eliminating the Nextel name for all its corporate branding.
"To leave Nextel on Cup title would be inconsistent with where we are headed for the future," said Tim Kelly, chief marketing officer for Sprint. "This is an important step in the development of our brand."
It is the third time that they change the name of the series in about four years, after being called the Winston Cup series for 32 years.
"In a perfect world, you want to do that as infrequently as possible," NASCAR chairman Brian France said of the name changes. "However, there comes a time when a great opportunity outweighs that issue. We're very confident this particular change is going to be beneficial to the industry."
NASCAR is in the fourth year of a 10-year agreement with Sprint/Nextel that pays NASCAR $75 million a year and gives Sprint/Nextel exclusivity rights in the Cup series.
The new Sprint logo for the Cup series is similar to the current yellow and black oval for Nextel.
"This is something we can build on for a long time," France said. "Frankly, we did not want to be a part of Nextel if the main efforts we're going to Sprint. It's very obvious their focus for the future is on the Sprint brand."
About the Author:
Audrey Nolan is a high-ranking writer on sports for the online betting industry. You can also find more of her work at www.instantactionsports.com.
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