NASCAR’s Wild Sponsorship Overhaul: Going into 2025, NASCAR’s sponsorship landscape is unrecognizable. The sanctioning body now boasts 51 official corporate partners – and 18 of those have been on board only four years or less. Categories like debt-relief, 3D printers, meat snacks and even propane have been created in the past 14 months to accommodate new brands. In other words, sponsors are cycling through faster than ever. Industry data confirms the momentum: Sponsorship deals for Cup teams rose roughly 7% from 2023 to 2024 (10% at the tracks). NASCAR is hosting more advertisers, but for shorter stints and through creative cross-promotions.
Short-Term Deals and Multi-Partner Packages
By design, the Cup Series today doesn’t have a single title sponsor but a tiered model. Since 2020 NASCAR has featured multiple Premier Partners (Busch, Coca-Cola, GEICO and Xfinity) rather than one monolithic sponsor. Even that tier is in flux – GEICO will end its Premier sponsorship after 2024, the first time NASCAR has lost one of the four top-tier brands. The league is now eyeing a fifth Premier Partner while also filling dozens of smaller categories. In short, long-term deals are harder to come by, and brands are opting for flexibility.
Teams have increasingly cobbled together sponsors on a race-by-race basis. This year Kyle Busch’s No. 8 (Roush Fenway) will feature Rebel Bourbon as a part-time primary sponsor. Brand manager Philip Lux said the spirit company “can’t wait to keep the excitement going in 2025” after a year-one season of engagement, promising “a lot of interactive social content in year two.”
Similarly, veteran team Front Row Motorsports announced that Rush Truck Centers will wrap Todd Gilliland’s and Zane Smith’s cars in Rush livery at eight selected races in 2025 (Rush will also serve as a full-season associate sponsor). “It’s always a ton of fun representing Rush Truck Centers both on and off the track,” said driver Noah Gragson, “and I’m super excited to see what we can achieve together in 2025!” Many new deals are multi-race. For example, Rick Ware Racing landed Arby’s for a 12-race Cup deal (also covering RWR’s drag-racing program), and Front Row will run Aaron’s branding on Gilliland’s and Smith’s cars in a limited schedule.
These shorter commitments are a marked change. In the past, sponsor contracts tended to be multi-year and full-season (Sprint/Nextel/Cup sponsorships once ran 7–10 years). Now sponsors want agility. As Just Marketing International’s Zak Brown observed years ago, executives today prefer shorter terms in a volatile market. NASCAR is accommodating that: the sanctioning body quietly reshuffled its sales team and even brought in outside branding consultants in 2024 to woo new sponsors and devise more flexible deals.
New Categories, New Players
Gone are some old-timers and in are unexpected new faces. Sunoco’s long run as the “official fuel” ends after 2025, and traditional sponsors like K&N Filters and even GEICO are leaving the sport. In their place, NASCAR has actively courted companies from non-endemic sectors. For 2024–25 alone, NASCAR has added four first-time categories: Straight Talk Wireless (as Official Wireless Partner), Suburban Propane (Official Propane Partner), Jack Link’s (Official Meat Snack Partner) and National Debt Relief (Official Debt-Relief Partner).
Each represents a previously untapped marketing angle. For example, Stratasys (a 3D-printing firm) signed in late 2024 as NASCAR’s exclusive 3D printing partner – a deal that installs a new Stratasys lab at NASCAR’s R&D center to speed parts development. NASCAR’s racing-development chief John Probst praised the arrangement, saying it “pushes the boundaries of performance and accuracy” by letting engineers “quickly iterate” through designs.
Not every change is high-tech. NASCAR also plugged nontraditional products onto its cars. At the Chicago street race the sanctioning body announced a deal with Jack Link’s beef jerky, filling the meat-snack niche. A debt-relief firm signed on as the first-ever sponsor in that category. Meanwhile, longtime partners like Goodyear and Coca-Cola remain staples – Goodyear’s tire deal is still “the most recognized sponsorship in sports,” per an SBJ survey – but a new generation of brands is moving in.
Even merch licensing is playing a role: NASCAR’s first collaboration with Crocs (announced Feb. 2024) was designed to reach younger fans. NASCAR licensing director Megan Malayter called Crocs “one of the most innovative” brands, adding that the partnership lets fans “put their passion on display” and gives NASCAR “another important opportunity to meet new consumers and potential fans where they are.”
Fan-Focused and Tech-Savvy Activations
Brands are also getting creative off-track. Liquor companies, quick-service chains and even fan contests are part of the mix. A standout example was Liquid Death (the iced-tea maker). In April 2024 Liquid Death became NASCAR’s “Official Iced Tea” under a multi-year deal, complete with on-site giveaways and an aggressive social push. Rather than just slapping its logo on a car, Liquid Death flipped the script with a fan-driven stunt.
It launched a “Pro Driver” contest in which three fans could win $30,000 sponsorship contracts (and car wraps) by posting videos of themselves chugging iced tea in under 18 seconds. The campaign was “designed to poke fun at traditional advertising tropes by emphasizing everyday fans rather than sports stars,” said Liquid Death marketing VP Greg Fass.
NASCAR’s own sales chief, Jeff Wohlschlaeger, welcomed Liquid Death’s irreverence, noting that the brand aims to “bring death to plastic bottles” through humor and sustainability. And Liquid Death’s marketing team was elated to tap NASCAR’s fanbase: “We’re thrilled to be bringing our infinitely recyclable, ice-cold cans of Liquid Death to the extremely passionate NASCAR fanbase,” said Ryan Heuser, the brand’s marketing SVP.
Other sponsors found crossover promos. For instance, Rush Truck Centers didn’t just paint racecars – it also provided Peterbilt tractors to haul FRM’s haulers, becoming the team’s “Official truck dealer and service center.” Arby’s backed NASCAR on the stock-car side and NHRA drag racing under one package. And 23XI Racing’s Xfinity renewal included branding both on the cars and in the team’s data analysis center.
These tie-ins illustrate how sponsors are looking for integrated campaigns, not just logo placement. In short, marketing has become multimedia: in addition to traditional track ads, brands are activating through social media, on-site experiences, hospitality (tailgates and fan clubs) and even licensing partnerships.
Perspectives from the Paddock
The net effect is a sponsorship market that demands agility. As sports marketing veteran Kami Taylor of Octagon put it, NASCAR “still provides robust sponsorship opportunities,” but only if it can “evolve and grow with the way the marketplace is going.” NASCAR insiders acknowledge the challenge. COO Steve O’Donnell has noted the need for a unified marketing message across teams and tracks – hence the new driver-promotional programs tied to the 2025 charter deals.
From the team side, there are mixed signals. Tim Cindric of Team Penske recently extended a 40+–year partnership with paint supplier PPG, emphasizing pride in “everything we have accomplished together…we are looking forward to continuing to wear their colors in the winner’s circle for years to come.” Yet Cindric’s team is also participating in new dynamic deals like everyone else. Drivers, for their part, are staying positive. Noah Gragson called his Rush Truck deal “incredible,” and Cole Custer and Michael McDowell have greeted part-season sponsors with gratitude.
At season’s end, the payoff for this fast-and-loose approach remains to be seen. NASCAR’s core fan base is loyal, but it’s also aging. By embracing varied sponsors and marketing stunts, NASCAR hopes to grow viewership, engage young audiences and keep money flowing. In the words of Liquid Death’s team, the sport is an “ideal home” to put their (and other brands’) names in front of millions.
“We’ve got drivers who are eager to build not only their brands but the sport as well,” said O’Donnell, acknowledging that this is a “sponsor-driven business” where “the more sponsors we can bring in, and the more eyeballs, it’s great for the sport” all about speed – not just on the track, but in the marketing office.
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