Post by dalejrfan on Jun 24, 2005 1:03:39 GMT -5
SONOMA, Calif. - Sprint and Nextel confirmed Thursday that once their merger is completed later this year the new company will be marketed as Sprint, but that for 2006, at least, NASCAR's top series would still be called Nextel Cup.
A decision on whether to change the name for 2007 and beyond would be made before next year's Daytona 500, said Mark Schweitzer, Nextel's senior vice president of marketing.
Observer reported that timetable earlier this month and said the name being considered for 2007 and beyond is the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
If the name does change from Nextel Cup to Sprint Cup for 2007, it would be the third name for NASCAR's top series in five seasons.
After three decades of sponsorship from R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, the series formerly known as Winston Cup changed to Nextel Cup for the 2004 season after Nextel signed a 10-year, $750 million title sponsorship deal in 2003.
"We will let the market help us decide how to do our branding," Schweitzer said. "We feel like we learned a lot executing the change to Nextel Cup, and if the name changes for 2007 we want a lot more time to pull that off effectively."
Schweitzer said that it was "a legitmate question" whether a series called Sprint Cup could cause confusing with the U.S. Auto Club's sprint car series.
"That will play into our research that we will do and it's something that we need to understand," he said. "It can be confusing if you don't do it well, but if we do it we intend to do it well."
While no name change is planned for 2006, Schweitzer said that once the merger is completed, which is expected in the third quarter of 2005, the merged company's logo will begin showing up at NASCAR tracks along with the Nextel logo.
"By the time (the season's final race at) Homestead happens this year, we hope to make the new branding visible," he said.
A decision on whether to change the name for 2007 and beyond would be made before next year's Daytona 500, said Mark Schweitzer, Nextel's senior vice president of marketing.
Observer reported that timetable earlier this month and said the name being considered for 2007 and beyond is the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
If the name does change from Nextel Cup to Sprint Cup for 2007, it would be the third name for NASCAR's top series in five seasons.
After three decades of sponsorship from R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, the series formerly known as Winston Cup changed to Nextel Cup for the 2004 season after Nextel signed a 10-year, $750 million title sponsorship deal in 2003.
"We will let the market help us decide how to do our branding," Schweitzer said. "We feel like we learned a lot executing the change to Nextel Cup, and if the name changes for 2007 we want a lot more time to pull that off effectively."
Schweitzer said that it was "a legitmate question" whether a series called Sprint Cup could cause confusing with the U.S. Auto Club's sprint car series.
"That will play into our research that we will do and it's something that we need to understand," he said. "It can be confusing if you don't do it well, but if we do it we intend to do it well."
While no name change is planned for 2006, Schweitzer said that once the merger is completed, which is expected in the third quarter of 2005, the merged company's logo will begin showing up at NASCAR tracks along with the Nextel logo.
"By the time (the season's final race at) Homestead happens this year, we hope to make the new branding visible," he said.