NASCAR announces new title sponsor – Xfinity Series

On Wednesday, NASCAR announced that XFINITY will be taking over for Nationwide as the title sponsor of NASCAR’s second-tier series, beginning in 2015. NASCAR and Comcast signed an agreement for 10 years, meaning fans will have the XFINITY Series till at least 2024.

“When our great partners at Nationwide informed us of their intention to transition to team sponsorship, we set to find out a series entitlement partner who was a leader in the category, a company known for integration, and a brand committed to growth, just like we are here at NASCAR,” NASCAR chief operating officer Brent Dewar commented. “We had exceptionally strong interest from many brands.  We received multiple offers and have aligned with one company and brand who met every single criteria that we were looking for to entitle this series where names are made.

“Comcast is a Fortune 500 company, and XFINITY is the nation’s largest video high-speed internet provider. They are proven innovators, on the cutting edge of the latest technology and a world-class entertainment provider. Above all, they’re a perfect fit for NASCAR. Working closely with Peter, Dave Watson, Matt, and the entire Comcast team, we felt both their passion for their own brands, but also for our sport.”

Peter Intermaggio, Comcast SVP of marketing communication, echoed the sentiments of NASCAR in joining forces together.

“It’s fitting that we’re in this great Hall of Fame, which really celebrates NASCAR’s terrific past and future,” he said. “What we’re really talking about today is the next 10 years together.  We couldn’t be more excited across all of our team and across our 100,000 employees in Comcast. One of the things that is especially important to us is live sports.  We know that live sports is important to television viewers everywhere.  It’s the most important content they can have access to.  So we’re really excited about participating in sponsoring this incredibly exciting sport that people follow with tremendous passion and intensity, so that’s why we’re here.

“Second, technology.  What you’re doing with technology across all of NASCAR is really exciting.  Technology is everywhere from the track, to the garage, to the car, to the stats, to the viewing experience.  That’s where we see tremendous alignment with our brand, what our strategy is about, what we’re trying to bring to the viewing experience, really using technology to improve the viewing experience across the board.”

Nationwide took over as title sponsor after Busch gave up sponsorship of the second-tier level. Nationwide announced earlier this year that they would not be returning, but instead sponsoring Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the Sprint Cup Series beginning with this weekend’s race at Richmond International Raceway.