NASCAR Changes Their Logo for First Time in 40 Years

Jan 12, 2017

NASCAR changed its logo for the first time since 1976 to include a new font and styling

NASCAR changed its logo for the first time since 1976. The change comes in conjunction with Monster Energy becoming the primary sponsor of the Cup Series. NASCAR, the National Association for Stock Car Racing, was founded in 1948 by Bill France Sr. The original logo had red and white checkered flags crossed with two cars facing each other.

The NASCAR logo has changed four times since the original logo was unveiled in 1948. The first change came in 1956 and was used until 1963. The logo changed again in 1964 until 1975.

The NASCAR logo changed to its multi-color bar in 1976. The latest change is a slight modification of the previous logo, with multi-color bars and a new font.

“Our new NASCAR mark is modern, timeless, and embraces the heritage of our sport,” Jill Gregory, NASCAR's Chief Marketing Officer, said in a release. “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 is the new title sponsor of the NASCAR Cup Series.

The highest level of NASCAR racing was known as the Grand National Series until 1972. The R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company became NASCAR's first primary sponsor in 1972. It was known as the NASCAR Winston Cup Series until 2003.

In 2004, Nextel Communications became the title sponsor of NASCAR and changed the name to the Nextel Cup Series. In 2008, it became the Sprint Cup Series when Nextel and Sprint merged companies.

Monster Energy became the new title sponsor of the NASCAR Cup Series at the beginning of 2017.

“Monster Energy is a brand built on excitement and enthusiasm, qualities that align with NASCAR,” Brian France, NASCAR Chairman and CEO said in a release. “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. 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.”

NASCAR used this logo from 1956 to 1973.

The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West have gone through name changes as well. The West Series started as the Pacific Coast Late Model Circuit in 1954. It became the Grand National West Series, then the Winston Grand National West Series before K&N took over as the title sponsor of the series.

The K&N East Series was originally formed in 1987 as the Busch Grand National North Series and raced primarily in the northeastern part of the United States. The series name changed to the Busch East in 2006.

In 2003, NASCAR unified the rules of the East and West Series and added the Toyota All-Star Showdown race pitting drivers and teams from both series against each other.

K&N Engineering became the title sponsor of the NASCAR Pro Series East and West Series in 2010.

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