Freeway named new premier partner of NASCAR

AVONDALE, Ariz. — NASCAR named Freeway Insurance as its new premier partner, making them one of four title sponsors of the NASCAR Cup Series.

Freeway joins Xfinity/Comcast, Anheuser-Busch and Coca-Cola as the four premier partners of NASCAR. Their logo will stand alongside the NASCAR Cup Series logo at every venue.

Freeway has sponsored Daniel Suarez in the NASCAR Cup Series since he joined Trackhouse Racing in 2021. They will follow Suarez to Spire Motorsports in 2026.

Freeway is replacing GEICO, which stepped away as a premier partner at the end of the 2024 season.

GEICO, Xfinity/Comcast, Busch and Coca-Cola first signed on as NASCAR’s premier partners in 2020 when the sport shifted away from one title sponsor shelling out money to sponsor its top division to having “premier partners” pooling money together to sponsor it instead.

History of NASCAR Cup Series title sponsorship and premier partners

The first title sponsor of the NASCAR Cup Series is arguably the most iconic. Ahead of the 1971 season, the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company signed a deal with NASCAR that transformed its top division into the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.

NASCAR Winston Cup Series

RJ Reynolds greatly influenced the sport through its title sponsorship, reducing the number of races to a more-manageable weekly schedule that made the series easier to follow for fans who flocked to NASCAR in the millions over the next 32 years. By the time the partnership ended in 2003, NASCAR had transformed by a regional sport to a nationwide juggernaut.

Stars of the Winston Cup era included Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip, Cale Yarborough, Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Allison, Mark Martin and a who’s who of others that defined the sport as we know it today.

NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

In 2002, growing regulatory pressure led to Winston’s decision to not renew. That ushered in the Nextel era. NASCAR announced a title sponsorship deal with telecommunications company Nextel on June 19, 2003, turning the series into the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series in 2004.

Like the Winston Cup era before it, the Nextel era was also transformative. It marked the start of the playoffs, then known as the Chase, which began in 2004. The sport also implemented ideas such as overtimes, double-file restarts and more in this era, which became known as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series era in 2008 when Sprint formally took over Nextel.

The biggest star of this era was Jimmie Johnson, who won a record-tying seven championships in the 13 seasons of this partnership. Tony Stewart won two, while Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski each won one.

The Nextel/Sprint era saw four different championship formats — and fifth was soon to follow in the Monster Energy era.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

In 2017, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series launched with stage cautions and playoff points tacked on to the original elimination format.

Fans often view this era unfavorably as iconic drivers had just left, were leaving or were at the end of their career — Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Jimmie Johnson.

This era is also viewed unfavorably for the quality of racing and the nature of the deal — with the title sponsorship reportedly going for just $20 million a year, compared to the reported $50 million to $75 million Sprint/Nextel paid before.

NASCAR Cup Series

After Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano and Kyle Busch took home some Monster-ous hardware, NASCAR announced the NASCAR Cup Series for 2020. They signed GEICO, Anheuser-Busch, Comcast/Xfinity and Coca-Cola to a deal that has since welcomed in a new era of the sport that remains to be fully defined yet.

Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano (2022, 2024) and Ryan Blaney have all won championships in this era, accentuating the new era NASCAR is in now.

Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.

A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.

Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick’s final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen’s stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers’ stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.

Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com