KFDM COOP Posted October 3, 2007 Report Posted October 3, 2007 \ Busch Series To Be Renamed NationwideNationwide Insurance will become the new title sponsor of the NASCAR Busch Series in 2008, sources close to the negotiations confirmed Tuesday. An official announcement is expected Wednesday. NASCAR officials said Tuesday that serious negotiations were under way, but nothing was finalized. Nationwide replaces Busch beer and Anheuser-Busch Inc., which has been the league's title sponsor for 26 seasons. NASCAR officials hoped to finalize a deal with a new title sponsor months ago, but couldn't get a company to agree to the reported $30 million a season asking price for NASCAR's No. 2 racing league. Nationwide will pay an estimated $12 million per season for a multiyear deal, slightly more than Anheuser Busch was paying. NASCAR officials considered going a year without a title sponsor before Nationwide joined the negotiations last month. Sprint/Nextel pays $75 million a year as the title sponsor for Nextel Cup, NASCAR's top racing series. The Busch Series is the considered by most observers as the second most popular racing league in the country. The Subway restaurant chain was reportedly the leading candidate to replace Busch before Nationwide became involved. Allstate is the official insurance company of NASCAR, but this new sponsorship deal will likely require Nationwide to take over that role according to The Associated Press. Nationwide recently signed a new four-year agreement as a corporate sponsor for the Speedway Motorsports Inc., which owns six tracks that play host to NASCAR races. But one SMI officials said that deal could change because of the new agreement to sponsor NASCAR's second-tier league. According to AP, Nationwide is expected to reach a similar deal with International Speedway Corp. ISC currently has a contract that lists AAA Insurance as the "Official Auto Club" of its 11 tracks. ISC is the publicly traded sister company of NASCAR, and both are owned by the France family. It's not clear if Nationwide will be required to meet advertising requirements with ESPN, which is in the first year of an eight-year contract to exclusively broadcast the Busch Series. ESPN worked with NASCAR to find a new sponsor for the series, and it was believed that the advertising requirement held up talks with several companies. Terry Blount covers motorsports for ESPN.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. Information from The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Guest HJ86 Posted December 4, 2007 Report Posted December 4, 2007 ;D money talks. Glad they didnt go with Subway . That name just wouldnt sound right.
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