By John Berti, Editor
Karnac.com Southern Short Track News

Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal reported that Anheuser-Busch will end it title sponsorship of NASCAR’s #2 racing series at the completion of the 2007 racing season. Anheuser-Busch's contract with NASCAR for the NASCAR Busch Series ends after 2007, and NASCAR officials say the cost to sponsor the series will go up.

Tony Ponturo, Anheuser-Busch's vice president of global media and sports marketing, told the SBJ of his company's decision to withdraw from the sponsorship citing the company’s desire to reassess all aspects of its NASCAR marketing as its reason for pulling out of the Busch Series. The company just concluded its 25th year as the title sponsor.

The decision comes on the heals of ESPN’s preparations to become the sole broadcasting system for all of NASCAR’s #2 series events in the United States. Previously the series was aired on as many as four networks in one season. Costs of sponsorship have been projected to become three times the estimated $10 million a year that Anheuser-Busch had been paying.

Steve Phelps, NASCAR’s marketing chief executive said, “We think the Busch Series is a property that has been undermarketed and undervalued. With our new TV agreement and the resources of ESPN is going to put against it, this series is not going to be an afterthought.”

Anheuser-Busch began sponsoring the series in 1982, when the series was called the NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series. It was changed to the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series in 1984 and then the NASCAR Busch Series in 1995.


Have an opinion on this story? E-MAIL KARNAC to send a letter to the editor!