NASCAR: France cites longevity in Monster deal

NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France says an announcement on what the sport's premier series will be called under sponsorship from Monster Energy is forthcoming.

"We'll have an announcement shortly," France said during a surprise call into SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. "We're working together with them. A lot of it is, they know motorsports, so they're not just along for the ride, they have some real good opinions on what they want to get done here as our entitlement sponsor. So, we're going to listen to them because they're obviously the most important partner; it's all going to be good."

Monster Energy will officially begin their entitlement sponsorship on January 1, 2017.

France noted the reception to the new partner has been positive, which is "what we wanted all along." And while it took time to work through things contractually, France said company is going to be engaging both on social media and at the track.

"Motorsports in their DNA," France said. "When you walk through, as I've done several times, their home office in California, it's all auto racing, it just is. Motorcycles and car racing and they just live and breathe it, and they're ready to go. We're excited to have them."

When asked to look at what the premier series car count will look like next year, France called it "normal times" as teams make decisions about their futures. That includes drivers moving around and organizations, like Tommy Baldwin Racing, deciding to end operation.

But when it comes to the series as a whole, France made it clear that a recent report from the SportsBusiness Journal concerning the agreement between Monster Energy and NASCAR is not correct.

SBJ cited sources who said Monster Energy had only signed a two-year agreement with a two-year option. Additionally, sources told SBJ the deal was worth $20 million annually.

France was quick to refute the numbers and said there would be longevity to the deal.

"Those are not accurate numbers," France said. "We have a good understanding of where this relationship is going to be, so no, those are not accurate numbers ... [Monster Energy is] excited about being here. My view is, this is the biggest entitlement or biggest sponsorship yet for their company, and although they're very successful ... my view is, they're going to build on for a long time. That's the sense of it with me, and I made this particular sales call myself, so I have a good sense of it, and I'm a big believer in those guys. They really have an understanding of what we're all trying to do together."