MONSTER ENERGY TO BECOME 2017 NASCAR SERIES SPONSOR

NASCAR announced on Thursday a multi-year deal, rumored to be 5 years,  that will make Monster Energy only the third title sponsor in premier series history. Monster Energy has existing sponsorships with a number of motorsports sanctioning bodies, most notably with the AMA Supercross series, but the NASCAR deal is their biggest sponsorship step ever. The new deal goes into effect on December 31, 2016.

The current NASCAR Sprint Cup series will now be the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup series. Monster will also sponsor the NASCAR All-Star Race and become the Official Energy Drink of NASCAR. Plus, Monster Energy is expected to continue to sponsor Stewart-Haas Racing’s car 41. Obviously, existing contracts with teams, athletes and promoters will be honored until they expire. The current NASCAR Sprint Cup sponsorship ends on December 31, 2016. Under the agreement, energy drink sponsors already involved in NASCAR may remain in place. Potential sponsors from the energy drink category will not be eligible for future sponsorship if not already involved in the sport.

“Monster Energy is a brand built on excitement and enthusiasm, qualities that align with NASCAR,” said Brian France, NASCAR Chairman and CEO. “This sponsorship position is the most unique in all of sports and entertainment, and we are thrilled to have a partner that will help us further elevate the series. Today’s announcement is the culmination of a thorough search, one that resulted in the right partner at this important time in our sport’s history.”

Mitch Covington, Monster vice president of sports marketing, said, “Monster has built its brand on racing and motorsports, and NASCAR is the pinnacle of motorsports in America. It’s American racing; we’re an American brand that’s a global company, and NASCAR is, too. When the opportunity came along to further associate yourself with a sport like NASCAR, it was the perfect fit for us. … NASCAR is just a hard-hitting, close-racing, fun property to be associated with.”