NASCAR has renamed the championship trophy for its premier series as a result of a change in its sponsorship model. Without a title sponsor for its Cup Series, the championship trophy will be called the Bill France Cup, a name that pays homage to the stock-car racing sanctioning body’s history.
“As the sport ushers in a new era, it’s fitting that my father’s name is associated with the highest mark of excellence in our sport,” NASCAR Chairman and CEO Jim France said. “My father and brother’s vision for NASCAR has been realized, many times over, as millions of fans follow and engage each week with the best racing in the world.”
The new trophy name honors Bill France Sr., who founded NASCAR in 1947 and ran it until the early 1970s, and his son, Bill France Jr., who headed NASCAR between 1972 and 2003.
Previously, the trophy carried the name of the series’ title sponsor, as the series had a title sponsor, beginning with Winston in 1971, through 2019 with Monster Energy. Other title sponsors include Nextel and Sprint. Beginning in 2020, the series will be backed by four premier partners — Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, Xfinity and Geico.
Despite the new name, the trophy will look similar to the Monster Energy Cup awarded from 2017 through 2019. Jostens, which has created the trophy since 2017, will remain the creator of the trophy. It will remain the same size and shape and continue to feature outlines of the tracks on the Cup Series schedule. The design will be updated to reflect the changing schedule when new tracks are added and/or tracks removed from the yearly schedule. Wholesale schedule changes are expected ahead of the 2021 season.
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