Some of the old-timers never quit calling it the Busch Series. Others had eventually gotten accustomed to saying Xfinity.
Now we’ll once again need to learn the new name of NASCAR’s second-tier racing league. Xfinity, part of the Comcast family, has had its name attached to the series for the past decade, but after this year, its naming rights disappear — though Xfinity is still very much involved with NASCAR.
The company will remain one of NASCAR’s “premier” partners, along with Busch Light and Coca-Cola (Geico dropped its premier sponsorship last season).
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Also, Xfinity will gain visibility in the big-league Cup Series. Announced this week, the driver who turns the fastest lap in each race will earn one bonus point for turning the “Xfinity Fastest Lap” — the same incentive is being enacted in the Xfinity and Trucks series.
Name changes are nothing new for NASCAR
Name changes are nothing new for the Xfinity Series, which was born as the Sportsman Division in 1950, NASCAR’s third season as a sanctioning body after its founding in Daytona Beach in late 1947.
A rundown of the name changes:
What’s next after Xfinity exit?
Who’s next? Maybe no one. In 2020, after a few name changes of its own during this century, NASCAR’s top division, which had been the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series since 2017, dropped all corporate attachments and became the NASCAR Cup Series.
Keeping the “Cup” in the name traces back to the change to Winston Cup in the early 1970s.
If there isn’t a new corporate naming-rights deal, what name will NASCAR run with? Well, chances are, there will be another corporate label for the series.
But there’s no doubting this: All options for 2026 and beyond are being discussed in the corner offices, even before the 2025 season begins.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR Xfinity Series going away (in a way). Bring back Busch Series!
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