NASCAR sets price for brands to replace Xfinity as race series title sponsor

NASCAR is seeking $10 million annually in right fees to replace Xfinity as the title sponsor of its second-tier series, per Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal. It has hired Klutch Sports Group, the agency run by LeBron James‘ agent Rich Paul, to find a new title sponsor for the Xfinity Series.

NASCAR is also looking for a mid-seven-figure commitment to activation that would take a brand’s per-annum spend to at least around $15 million, Stern noted. Paul has been working with NASCAR behind the scenes on merchandise collaborations and bringing influencers to races. In February, two-time Indy 500 champion Josef Newgarden became the first driver to sign with Klutch Sports. NASCAR CCO Craig Stimmel saw Klutch Sports as a “great fit” after they began moving into motorsports.

“[Racing] is something Klutch has been interested in getting into and sinking our teeth in,” said Andrew Feinberg, Klutch head of global partnerships. “Motorsports has become incredibly popular, particularly over the last couple years with some of the content that’s come out, but it’s been a no-brainer for us to want to partner with Craig [Stimmel] and NASCAR because of how partner forward this league has been historically, and it’s probably one of the more passionate fanbases that we’ve seen in sports to this day and will continue to be so.”

Xfinity ending title sponsorship of NASCAR second-tier series

Stern previously reported that Comcast’s Xfinity telecommunications brand is ending its title sponsorship of the series after 2025. Xfinity did renew its broader premier partnership with NASCAR “for multiple years and with fresh strategies.” With NASCAR inking a new media rights deal in which Nexstar Media Group’s The CW is airing every Xfinity race from 2025-2031, Xfinity extended its title sponsorship through this season to allow NASCAR time to find a replacement for the 2026 season.

As part of Xfinity’s renewed partnership with NASCAR, the sanctioning body introduced the “Xfinity Fastest Lap,” which awards one point to the team and driver with the fastest single recorded lap each race, across all three of NASCAR’s national series. 

Xfinity replaced Nationwide as title sponsor in 2015, which made sense as sister company NBC began airing NASCAR races that same year. That deal had a value of roughly $200 million over a decade between $10 million in annual rights fees to NASCAR and $10 million in yearly activation commitments. Xfinity became a premier partner of NASCAR in 2020. Coca-Cola and Busch Beer are the two other remaining premier partners.