Brian France refutes report on value and length of Monster Energy deal
NASCAR Chairman Brian France on Monday said Monster Energy is who NASCAR “wanted all along” as a replacement for Sprint as the title sponsor of its premier series.
“That’s who we really wanted all along and it took a while to work through some contractual things to make that happen,” France said Monday in an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “They’re just a great company and they are going to do some fun things with our fans.
“That’s probably the most exciting thing. They’re engaging, not only on social media but at the track and motorsports is in their DNA. When you walk through, as I’ve done several times, their home office in California, it’s all racing – motorcycles and car racing.
“They just live and breathe it and they’re ready to go. We’re excited to have them.”
NASCAR officially announced Monster Energy as its new entitlement sponsor of its Cup series earlier this month in Las Vegas. Motorsport.com first reported in November that the company had become a finalist in the sponsor hunt.
France said there would be an announcement “shortly” on the official name of the series as well as the unveiling of the series logo.
France said the company is not “just along for the ride” and Monster’s executives have offered up several ideas of what they would like to see as the title sponsor.
“We’re going to listen to them because, obviously, they are our most important partner,” he said. “It’s going to be good.”
On reported value/length of deal
France also refuted a report published Monday in the SportsBusiness Journal in which unnamed sources claimed the Monster Energy deal with NASCAR covered two years with the option of a two-year extension and was worth about $20 million annual in rights with activation still to be determined from the sponsor.
“Those are not accurate numbers,” France said. “We have a good understanding of where this relationship is going to be. Most importantly, they are excited about being here.
“My view is this is the biggest sponsorship yet for their company and although they are very successful, this is going to be something, in my view, they are going to build on for a long time.
“That’s the sense they’ve made with me and I made this particular sales call myself, so I have a good sense of it. I’m a big believer in those guys. They have a great understanding of what we’re all trying to do together.”
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