“I mean, it is tough out there. Sponsorship is hard to come by.” Denny Hamlin sounded off when he explained his current situation with the fragile sponsorship landscape in the sport. In only the past few years, NASCAR has lost out on prominent sponsors such as M&M’s, GEICO, Hooters, FedEx, and Monster Energy, to name a few. And joining these major players is 23XI Racing’s primary sponsor, Xfinity. There was a time when major brands such as Winston, Nextel, and Monster Energy served as the title sponsor for the Cup Series. However, the premier division of stock car racing from 2017 opted to stand on its own without the support of the prominent brands; since then, it’s called the NASCAR Cup Series.

And with the current development, something similar could happen with its tier-2 offering.

Comcast’s Xfinity won’t return as title sponsor beyond 2025

Busch Beer, Coca-Cola, GEICO, and Xfinity were the four premier partners for NASCAR after they chalked out title sponsorship. But as far as the second and third divisions of stock car racing were concerned, they roped in Xfinity and Craftsman into the fold. However, the sponsorship model in NASCAR is far from what it used to be during its heyday, and NASCAR is undergoing a major shift in the modern era.

Xfinity’s exit as title sponsor had been predicted throughout the silly season. But it’s now confirmed that the telecommunication brand will continue its title sponsorship association with NASCAR only until the end of 2025. Xfinity took on this role back in 2015 when NBC started airing the Xfinity Series races. It has to be noted, that NASCAR has partnered with Nexstar’s CW to broadcast Xfinity Series races until 2031, and NBC abruptly backed out from airing Xfinity Series races last year. This forced CW to get into their role earlier than expected and these were the first signs of Comcast’s Xfinity exit strategy from their title sponsorship role.

But given the good relationship, Comcast’s Xfinity has had with NASCAR, they have provided them with a window of a year to find their replacement if needed. Moreover, they are going to stick around as the premier partner and aren’t cutting ties with NASCAR like GEICO did. “11 years of being an entitlement partner and having the run that we’ve had has been amazing, and now I think it’s time for someone else to take that mantle and continue to grow the series to heights that we can’t even consider at this point.” Comcast VP/Branded Partnerships & Activation Matt Lederer said this in a press release.

Moreover, Xfinity is also going to stick around and stay true to its commitments to 23XI Racing. The company has been featured on Tyler Reddick’s No. 45 Toyota Camry and will continue to do so in 2025. While Xfinity’s stepping back from title sponsorship is worrying, they are trying their best to add value to the sport with its new initiative.

NASCAR will reward the drivers through Xfinity’s fastest-lap program

We have seen a fair few changes to the NASCAR rule book before racing resumes. While there have been some positive tweaks and changes, the Open provisional and playoff waiver have become topics of debate within the racing community. Something similar could happen with a new rule addition NASCAR is bringing about with its premier partner Xfinity.

Starting this season, NASCAR is going to introduce the “Xfinity Fastest Lap,” which will award one point to the team and driver with the fastest lap recorded in a race. This applies to all three national racing series, and with this element in play, a single point based on the fastest lap could make or break a driver’s season. This is also a new avenue or experiment through which Xfinity is trying to create brand awareness and connect to the NASCAR audience.

“What we’ve seen is the partners who are part of the sport want to dig in deeper, and that’s what we love. More owned assets and content opportunities. For us, that’s the biggest takeaway from this partnership extending is just more opportunities for our fans to consume the sport, engage and then grow the portfolio of products that Matt just mentioned all along the way,” Michelle Byron, NASCAR’s Chief Partnership & Licensing Officer, added.

Is the premier partnership worth more than the title sponsorship? Moreover, is NASCAR backed up against the wall with Xfinity’s departure? These are the questions that might come to light once the 2025 season concludes; until then we will have to play the waiting game.