Monster Energy becomes new title sponsor of Nascar’s top series

Drinks brand Monster Energy has been unveiled as the new title sponsor of the premier series of North American stock car-racing championship Nascar.

The multi-year deal begins in 2017 and grants Monster naming rights to the series, as well as the annual Nascar All-Star Race. Monster will also serve as the official energy drink of Nascar.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but the ESPN.com website reported that the deal would be worth $20m (€18.7m) per year.

As part of the agreement, Monster will launch a range of fan engagement initiatives at all race tracks where the premier series takes place.

“This sponsorship position is the most unique in all of sports and entertainment, and we are thrilled to have a partner that will help us further elevate the series,” Brian France, Nascar chairman and chief executive, said. “Today’s announcement is the culmination of a thorough search, one that resulted in the right partner at this important time in our sport’s history.”

Sprint, which assumed the sponsorship of the Sprint Cup Series when it bought out Nextel in 2005, announced in 2014 that it would not engage Nascar in talks to renew the contract. An initial 10-year deal that ran from 2004-2013 was believed to be worth $750m, with a three-year extension signed in December 2011 to cover the 2014 through 2016 period raising the annual value of the deal to around $80m.