NASCAR President Bill France Jr. announced Thursday June 19th that a new sponsor had been found for the top series in the NASCAR family. After thirty years of sponsorship, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. will end the company’s reign as the series sponsor, taking the Winston name off the top series and arguably the best known series of racing in the world, the NASCAR Winston Cup.
Nextel Communications, a wireless communications provider from Virginia, will be the new title sponsor for what will become the NASCAR Nextel Cup starting in 2004. Chief Operating Officer Tom Kelly explained that the marketing value of NASCAR is tremendous, and that they have been partners with NASCAR for a few years, being the title sponsor at the Miami Homestead race late in the season. He also made it clear that Nextel has made this commitment for a ten year period, but monetary amounts were not discussed at the press conference.
Nextel will also take over the title sponsorship of the All Star race held at Lowes Motor Speedway in Charlotte beginning next year. Known since it’s beginning as “The Winston”, the name will be changed to “The NASCAR All Star Race, presented by Nextel.” It has not been determined yet whether the race will remain at the Charlotte facilities, as NASCAR has been in discussions about rotating the race to different tracks.
The Winston was originally started in 1985 and was to rotate, but after the success of Charlotte, and the fact that the majority of the shops are located in nearby Mooresville, it has remained at Lowes Motor Speedway. Kelly also said that Nextel will concentrate on only the top division, leaving speculation on the fate of the lower divisions, such as the Winston West Series, a touring division that runs exclusively in the western part of the country.
The change in the name of NASCAR’s top touring division will leave many fans wondering if corporate America will be able to satisfy the loyal followers that Winston has become accustomed to in the past. This story will be the focus of several trade shows in the near future, and only the future can tell us if NASCAR’s Nextel Cup will be as successful.

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