Will NASCAR still thrive without Sprint as top series' title sponsor?
Of course the biggest news of the week was the announcement that series sponsor Sprint will be leaving as the title sponsor of NASCAR's top series at the end of 2016.
You just have to know that NASCAR is always looking for additional partners to bring into the sport, whether it's a team sponsor or in this case a new series sponsor. For example, with Nationwide Insurance coming to the end of its title sponsorship this past season, NASCAR was able to replace the sponsor starting next year.
You always have to be of the mindset in today's economic world that you have to be prepared for something like this to happen. We saw it when the cigarette industry went through their legal changes and R.J. Reynolds had to pull its Winston title sponsorship. Then in the ever-changing electronic world we saw Nextel become our sponsor, only to be bought out by Sprint, and our sport changed its name yet again.
Trust me, we all hate to see any sponsor -- no matter how big or how small -- leave our sport. Sprint has been an unbelievable partner and has done so much to take our sport to another level. We all would have loved to see Sprint be our sponsor for decades to come, but sadly, it's not meant to be.
I am sure that NASCAR will bring a new title sponsor to the table by the end of 2016 that will be excited to grow our sport even further than we've ever been. Have no fear; our sport will be fine.
