Miles confirms Verizon departure as title sponsor after 2018

The Verizon IndyCar Series will carry a different name after the 2018 season concludes. IndyCar CEO Mark Miles confirmed the news of Verizon's forthcoming departure as the series' title sponsor on Friday.

"We truly appreciate the significant resources – both financial and technical – that Verizon has invested in IndyCar," said Miles, who also serves as CEO of Hulman & Co., IndyCar's parent company. "Our series and sport have benefitted across a variety of fronts as a result of our work together, and they have been great partners."

Verizon's sponsorship agreement with Team Penske, where 2014 IndyCar champion Will Power has represented the brand since Long Beach in 2009 (pictured below), will continue as planned.

First mentioned by RACER in June, the loss of Verizon should not come as a surprise to teams or fans after the telecommunication company's enthusiastic engagement with IndyCar began to wane.

Signed in 2014 as IndyCar's new title sponsor, former CEO Dan Mead took an active role in commissioning commercials and other mainstream advertising initiatives centered around the open-wheel series that brought increased attention to the sport. With Mead's retirement in 2015, the momentum behind the partnership gradually decreased as his successor reportedly found little use for having the brand's name positioned atop IndyCar.

Miles and his IndyCar constituents find themselves in a position that has become familiar for North American racing series. IMSA's loss of Tudor Watches after the 2015 season led to a replacement by WeatherTech, and in NASCAR, two title sponsor changes have recently taken place as Verizon rival Sprint left at the end of 2016 and the Monster Energy drink brand stepped in to fill the void. Nationwide Insurance also ceased its sponsorship of NASCAR's mid-tier series, and was replaced by cable provider Xfinity.

Along with the need to sign a new television contract for 2019, IndyCar will have two major announcements to make in the near future.