NASCAR: New brand identity, logo announced

Welcome to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

NASCAR's premier series now has a name and a new look. In addition to announcing the series name, a new logo will replace the bar mark used by the sanctioning body since 1976.

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series mark, which prominently features the Monster Energy logo, starts a new brand identity that had been in development since early 2016 as part of a broader effort to refresh the NASCAR brand. It was designed to pay tribute to the storied history of NASCAR, incorporating elements of all four previous marks since the company's inaugural season of 1948.

"Our new NASCAR mark is modern, timeless, and embraces the heritage of our sport," said Jill Gregory, NASCAR senior vice president and chief marketing officer. "It was important for us to recognize our history and implement a piece of each previous mark in the new design. Our goal was to evolve the sport's visual identity to make it concise, relevant and functional, while respecting and maintaining the unique qualities of the original mark."

Monster Energy was officially welcomed as the next entitlement sponsor with a multi-year agreement on Dec. 1 in Las Vegas, but details of what the series would be called and its logo had not been finalized - until now. 

In addition to serving as the entitlement sponsor of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Monster Energy will continue to serve as Kurt Busch's sponsor on his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, is now the official energy drink of NASCAR, and will have naming rights to the All-Star Race held each May at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“They made us feel very comfortable over time,” NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France said at the introductory news conference. “Motorsports is their DNA, and when you walk through their lobby in California you see that; you see the motorcycles and NASCAR memorabilia and all kinds of things. That’s who they are. They understand motorsports, they understand NASCAR, they understand how to reach across and excite our core audience and help us deliver on a new audience, and that was very exciting for us."

As its new premier sponsor, Monster Energy will be tasked with marketing to its own younger fan base while engaging NASCAR's traditionally older audience – a challenge France thinks Monster Energy is uniquely qualified to handle.

“We’re in the fun business," he said. "This is where people come to have fun. … What better brand to have associated with us than the people who understand that? We couldn’t be more excited."

Monster Energy is only the third company to serve as the entitlement sponsor in NASCAR premier series history, following RJ Reynolds and Sprint/Nextel, whose sponsorship ran from 2004-2016.

The first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series points race will be the 59th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 26.