By Riccardo Tafà| Posted January 23, 2025 | In Motorsports, NASCAR
By Riccardo Tafà| Posted January 23, 2025 | In Motorsports, NASCAR
For over seven decades, NASCAR –National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing– has captivated motorsport enthusiasts with its high-speed action, roaring engines, and larger-than-life personalities. Today, NASCAR stands as one of America’s most popular sports, blending a rich legacy with modern innovations that appeal to brands seeking unparalleled engagement opportunities.
As NASCAR heads into 2025, its appeal remains robust, with millions of viewers tuning in globally and hundreds of thousands attending races across its expansive calendar. For brands, NASCAR sponsorships provide diverse opportunities, from grassroots activations to nationwide campaigns, delivering high ROI through passionate fan loyalty and expansive media reach. This guide explores NASCAR’s sponsorship ecosystem, costs, packages, and what makes it a compelling platform for marketers in 2025.
NASCAR events consistently draw significant audiences. In 2024, average race viewership was 3.2 million per event on television, with major races like the Daytona 500 attracting over 8 million viewers. On track, attendance remained strong, with iconic venues like Daytona International Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway hosting upwards of 100,000 fans on race day.
NASCAR fans are among the most loyal in sports. Research shows that nearly 75% of NASCAR fans are more likely to purchase products from a brand that sponsors their favorite teams or drivers. This loyalty ensures a direct impact on consumer behavior, making sponsorship highly effective for marketers.
With a packed schedule spanning February to November, NASCAR provides consistent exposure over nearly 10 months. The 2025 racing calendar features 38 events, including marquee races like the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, and the championship finale at Phoenix Raceway.
NASCAR sponsorship is highly versatile, offering brands numerous options to align their marketing goals with the sport’s immense reach. Here are the main sponsorship packages available:
Primary sponsorship involves being the lead sponsor for a specific team or driver. This package includes:
Costs for primary sponsorship can range from $5 million to $35 million annually, depending on the team and driver’s popularity.
Associate sponsors share branding space on a car, typically on smaller sections like the rear bumper or side panels. These packages are more affordable, starting around $500,000 and going up to $5 million, offering brands a cost-effective way to enter NASCAR sponsorship.
Brands can sponsor specific races, gaining naming rights and integration into race promotions. For example, in 2024, the “GEICO 500” at Talladega Superspeedway showcased how title sponsorship can deliver significant visibility. Costs for race title sponsorship typically range from $1 million to $10 million per event.
ecoming an official series sponsor, like Coca-Cola or Busch Light, positions your brand at the forefront of NASCAR. These multi-year deals include exclusive branding rights, nationwide campaigns, and integration across all NASCAR platforms. Costs can exceed $50 million annually but deliver unparalleled exposure.
NASCAR tracks offer sponsorship opportunities such as:
Trackside sponsorships start at around $50,000 per race and can climb into the millions for high-profile tracks like Daytona or Talladega.
NASCAR’s digital presence is thriving, with millions of followers across platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. Brands can sponsor digital content, such as behind-the-scenes footage, live race updates, or fan contests, offering direct engagement with a younger, tech-savvy audience.
NASCAR sponsorship costs vary widely based on the scope of the partnership. Below are estimated ranges for 2025:
These costs highlight NASCAR’s flexibility, accommodating brands of all sizes and industries.
NASCAR fans are highly engaged, making it an ideal platform for brands seeking meaningful connections. Whether through merchandise giveaways, interactive fan zones, or digital contests, NASCAR provides a range of activation opportunities.
NASCAR races are hubs for corporate networking. Hospitality suites and VIP experiences offer brands opportunities to connect with business leaders and potential clients.
With detailed audience demographics and data, NASCAR enables brands to target specific segments, from family-oriented fans to younger, tech-savvy viewers.
As NASCAR adopts eco-friendly practices, such as renewable fuels and electric vehicle series, brands focused on sustainability can align themselves with these initiatives.
This packed calendar ensures consistent brand visibility throughout the year.
As an official series sponsor, Busch Light leverages NASCAR to reinforce its image as the beer of choice for racing fans. Their 2024 campaign included limited-edition cans featuring iconic NASCAR moments, driving both engagement and sales.
Toyota’s partnership with Joe Gibbs Racing highlights how automakers use NASCAR to showcase their engineering prowess. In 2024, Toyota emphasized its hybrid technology, aligning with NASCAR’s sustainability initiatives.
GEICO’s sponsorship of the Talladega race delivered significant visibility, with its branding appearing in front of millions of viewers both on-site and through TV broadcasts.
1. Identify Objectives: Determine your marketing goals, whether it’s brand visibility, audience engagement, or sustainability alignment.
2. Research Teams and Events: Choose a team, driver, or race that aligns with your brand values.
3. Engage NASCAR’s Sponsorship Team: NASCAR offers tailored sponsorship packages to meet diverse brand needs.
4. Plan Activation Strategies: Use your sponsorship to create memorable experiences, such as interactive fan zones or exclusive merchandise.
NASCAR sponsorship offers a high-octane blend of visibility, engagement, and ROI. With its passionate fanbase, extensive calendar, and flexible sponsorship packages, NASCAR is a powerful platform for brands to connect with audiences and achieve their marketing objectives.
Whether you’re looking to sponsor a race, a driver, or the series itself, NASCAR provides the tools to accelerate your brand’s growth. In 2025, seize the opportunity to partner with one of America’s most beloved sports and make your mark on the racetrack.
With NASCAR sponsorship, your brand can be seen by millions every week, from the Daytona 500 to the Brickyard 400. At RTR Sports, we specialise in IndyCar sponsorship, Formula 1 sponsorship, MotoGP sponsorship, and WEC sponsorship. Be at the front of the action by contacting RTR Sports today.
Experience the power and put your brand in front of millions with motorsport sponsorship. Whether it's Formula 1, MotoGP, NASCAR, IndyCar, or WEC, RTR Sports give your brand the opportunity to appear on television at the most prestigious race tracks in the world.
Sponsor a motorsport team today
Managing Director for RTR Sports, Riccardo graduated in law at the University of Bologna. He began his career in London in PR, then started working in two and four-wheelers. A brief move to Monaco followed before returning to Italy. There he founded RTR, first a consulting firm and then a sports marketing company which, eventually, he moved back to London.
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Read MoreIn an era where it is possible to get anywhere with a click, there is a strong temptation to approach teams and properties directly for sponsorship projects.
By doing so, we are convinced that we are shortening the value chain, saving time and money. However, these DYI methods are anything but risk-free and what initially appears to be a competitive advantage soon turns into a problem that is difficult to resolve. That’s why there are agencies. And this is why you should rely on us for your sponsorships.
When first approaching a motorsport sponsorship project, it is difficult to know immediately which stakeholders are correct, what the decision flow is, and what the right timelines are for each process. Motorsport is a very specialized field of action, and fitting effectively into its paths can take a lot of time and therefore money. We, on the other hand, know referents and spheres of action and know who to talk to, when and how. So you are also more effective.
Motorsport is an immense passion, and for our heart colors we would be willing to do anything. But business is a different business, and it is important to make the best possible strategic decisions based on independent research, statistics and reliable data. A motorsport sponsorship agency like RTR has an objective, 360-degree picture of the scenario and can tell you what is really best for you: which racing series, which athlete, which team. This is because we possess a great deal of data and information on ratings, segmentation and attitudes. Because the numbers don’t lie. Never.
Activations are the real heart of motorsport sponsorship. Without them, there remains only a blank sticker on a motorcycle, car or uniform and no contact with the public, no emotional connection, no impact on the bottom line. Then how do you do it? It certainly won’t be the teams or the athletes who will help you leverage sponsorship and enjoy the many marketing rights you have paid for. To bring out the best in a motorsport marketing project, you need an agency that knows how to use sponsorship to engage the fanbase online, to reach out to Shopping Centers, to organize hospitality, to develop B2B and B2C opportunities, and to get “your” athletes in front of millions of potential consumers.
Would you ever go to the dealer who sold you the car and ask if the competitor’s car is better? No, of course. So, how do you expect to get firm measurements of the effectiveness of your sponsorship if you do not rely on someone super partes? At RTR, we have always worked with independent third-party agencies that allow us to know the return on any exposure of your brand on TV and in the media. In addition, we believe in calculating ROI as the ultimate measure of your success-so we can tell you for every penny you spend how much you are making.
We have been involved in motorsport sponsorship and sports marketing for more than 15 years. We are consultants in the sense that our goal is to maximize your investment, but we are also an agency that manages the project from start to finish. We have been doing this since 1995 with passion and professionalism, following three principles that have become cornerstones of our business: independence, verticality and transparency.
I would like to highlight the fact that one of the qualities of RTR is its great ability to approach the sponsorship scenario strategically, together with its passionate attitude, its amazing enthusiasm for solving problems, and its high level of professionalism.
Gianluca Degliesposti
Executive Director Server&Storage EMEA
Eurosport is truly delighted with its business relationship with Riccardo Tafà, who has become extremely popular, thanks to his detailed knowledge of the sports marketing sector and his highly diligent attitude to work.
Francois Ribeiro
Commercial Director
Passion and Expertise are the features that I have found in RTR since the very beginning. Serious and reliable professionals but also very helpful, nice and open-mind people, willing to listen and compare different ideas. All the values in which RTR believes make this agency a partner, not just a supplier, a partner with whom we have had the opportunity to achieve significant commercial results in term of success and image.
Luca Pacitto
Head of Communication
We have been working with RTR Sports Marketing for over 10 years. The objectives and the programmes of collaboration continue to be renewed and to grow with mutual satisfaction. I believe RTR is a team of great professionals led by Riccardo Tafà, who I consider a manager of exceptional skills and with a great passion for his work.
Lucio Cecchinello
Team Principal
I have known and worked with Riccardo Tafà since 1995 when we collaborated for the first time on a project for the Williams Formula 1 team. Several clients followed. After leaving Williams to work for Gerhard Berger then owner of the Toro Rosso F1 Team, I turned again to Riccardo to seek his help in finding a tool supplier for the team and Riccardo duly obliged with an introduction to USAG, a partnership with Toro Rosso which endured for five years. I recently started a new role as Group Commercial Director for the renowned Andretti Autosport organisation and I find myself working with Riccardo once again on a number of interesting projects. Why has this relationship with Riccardo endured ? He’s smart, knows the commercial side of sport inside out and back to front and he’s honest and trustworthy. Riccardo Tafà is a “doer” not a “talker”: in over 20 years I have never had a dispute either with him or with a company that he has introduced and each partnership introduced by Riccardo has delivered quantifiable ROI to rights holder and sponsor alike. I can think of no better testimonial of Riccardo’s diligence, knowledge, contact base and hard work than that.
Jim Wright
Group Commercial Director
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We are working on a television project that could be incorporated into your expertise with the subject matter. Would you be interested in working on securing sponsorship for a television/social media production? There is more to it than just a straight series.
In the past I was the DOP for the Michael Moore films like Sicko, Capitalism a Love Story and Directed TV series for MAVTV like The Traveling Motorhead.
We are also working on a NASCAR TV project that could easily turn into a movie. We have interest from a winning driver and are putting together a pitch deck for funding. Are you interested in hearing our ideas?