Sports/nextel Cup by Mediterranean Interiors

The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, when the series began leasing its naming rights to the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, it was referred to as the NASCAR Winston Cup Series (1971–2003). A similar deal was made with Nextel in 2003, and it became the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series (2004–2007). Sprint acquired Nextel in 2005, and in 2008 the series was renamed the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (2008–2016). In December 2016, it was announced that Monster Energy would become the new title sponsor, and the series was renamed the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (2017–2019). In 2019, NASCAR rejected Monster's offer to extend the naming rights deal beyond the end of the season. NASCAR subsequently announced its move to a new tiered sponsorship model beginning with the 2020 season similar to other U.S. based professional sports leagues, where it was simply known as the NASCAR Cup Series, with the sponsors of the series being called Premier Partners. The four Premier Partners are Busch Beer, Coca-Cola, Xfinity, and Freeway Insurance. The championship is determined by a points system, with points being awarded according to finish placement in the race and its stages. The season is divided into two segments. After the first 26 races (the regular season), 16 drivers are seeded based on their position in the points standings. They compete in the last ten races, where the difference in points is greatly minimized. This is called the NASCAR Chase. The series holds strong roots in the Southeastern United States, with about half of the races in the 36-race season being held in that region. As of 2020, the schedule includes tracks from around the United States. There have been races held outside the United States with exhibition races previously held in Japan and Australia, and races held in Montreal and Mexico City. The Daytona 500, the most prestigious race, had a television audience of about 9.17 million U.S. viewers in 2019.

Article title : NASCAR Cup Series
"Cup Series (1971–2003). A similar deal was made with Nextel in 2003, and it became the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series (2004–2007). Sprint acquired Nextel in..."
Article title : 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series
"2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Previous 2006 Next 2008 Champions | Seasons The 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series was the 59th season of professional stock car..."
Article title : 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series
"NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Previous 2003 Next 2005 Champions | Seasons The 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series was the 56th season of NASCAR Nextel Cup Series..."
Article title : List of NASCAR Cup Series champions
"2013. "Kurt Busch: 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Results". Racing-reference.info. Retrieved June 22, 2013. "2005 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Standings". ESPN.com. Retrieved..."
Article title : 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
"NASCAR announced that the telecommunications firm Nextel would be the new title sponsor of the Cup Series starting in 2004. This was also the final season..."
Article title : 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series
"2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Previous 2005 Next 2007 Champions | Seasons The 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series was the 58th season of professional stock car..."
Article title : 2004 EA Sports 500
"The 2004 EA Sports 500 was a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race that took place on October 3, 2004, at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. It was..."
Article title : Sprint Corporation
"as the Sprint Corporation, but took the name Sprint Nextel Corporation when it merged with Nextel Communications and adopted its black and yellow color..."
Article title : 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series
"2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Previous 2004 Next 2006 Champions | Seasons The 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series was the 57th season of professional stock car..."
Article title : NASCAR Chase
"as The Chase), formerly officially known as the Chase for the Nextel/Sprint Cup (Nextel from 2004 to 2007, Sprint from 2008 to 2016) and the NASCAR Playoffs..."