By Emanuele Venturoli| Posted March 17, 2026 | In NASCAR
By Emanuele Venturoli| Posted March 17, 2026 | In NASCAR
The NASCAR Xfinity Title Sponsor Replacement marks one of the most significant commercial transitions in recent NASCAR history. In 2026, O’Reilly Auto Parts officially replaced Xfinity as the title sponsor of NASCAR’s second national series, ushering in a new era for the championship previously known as the Xfinity Series.
O’Reilly Auto Parts replaced Xfinity as the title sponsor of NASCAR’s second national series in 2026, with the series officially renamed the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series under a multi-year agreement reported at approximately $15 million per year.
The announcement followed months of industry speculation and strategic discussions involving NASCAR leadership, O’Reilly Auto Parts, and commercial intermediaries, including Klutch Sports — the sports agency founded by Rich Paul and associated with high-profile athlete representation. The deal reflects NASCAR’s continued focus on aligning commercial partnerships with category-relevant brands and strengthening the long-term commercial architecture of its national series ecosystem.
The transition answers the most searched industry questions:
nascar title sponsor xfinity replacement, what replaced xfinity in nascar, and who is the new title sponsor of nascar xfinity series.
Importantly, Xfinity did not exit NASCAR entirely. While it concluded its role as title sponsor of the Tier-2 series, Xfinity remains a Premier Partner of the NASCAR Cup Series — a detail often misunderstood in public discussions surrounding the sponsorship change.
The xfinity nascar sponsorship change represents not only a rebranding, but also a strategic repositioning of the series within the broader motorsport commercial landscape.
The nascar xfinity series sponsorship history demonstrates how title partnerships evolve in response to corporate strategy and category priorities.
Xfinity’s tenure lasted over a decade, making it one of the most stable era-defining partnerships in modern NASCAR history. However, strategic corporate priorities shifted, leading to the decision not to renew.
| Era | Title Sponsor | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Busch Series | Anheuser-Busch | 1984–2007 |
| Nationwide Series | Nationwide Insurance | 2008–2014 |
| Xfinity Series | Comcast / Xfinity | 2015–2025 |
| O’Reilly Auto Parts Series | O’Reilly Auto Parts | 2026–Present |
Each nascar series title sponsors history transition reflects evolving commercial priorities. The arrival of O’Reilly Auto Parts is particularly significant because it represents the first major automotive aftermarket brand to assume title rights for a national NASCAR series — aligning product category directly with racing culture.
The nascar o’reilly series sponsorship cost structure reflects the accessibility of Tier-2 racing compared to the Cup Series, offering a strategic entry point for brands seeking performance marketing, hospitality activation, and motorsport credibility.
| Tier | Per Race | Full Season |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Sponsor | $30K–$100K | $1M–$3.5M |
| Associate Sponsor | $5K–$20K | $180K–$720K |
Compared to Cup-level investments, the nascar tier 2 series sponsorship cost 2026 positioning remains significantly more accessible. Teams competing in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series share many venues and race weekends with the Cup Series, delivering incremental visibility at substantially lower cost.
For brands evaluating how much does it cost to sponsor a nascar xfinity car, the financial entry point is flexible, allowing tailored activation strategies based on performance objectives, hospitality needs, and media exposure targets.
RTR Sports can secure O’Reilly Series placements and guide brands through team selection, negotiation, and activation strategy for the 2026 season.
The transition from Xfinity to O’Reilly underscores broader nascar sponsorship benefits at the Tier-2 level.
For companies exploring nascar sponsorship opportunities, Tier-2 provides a strategic balance between performance marketing, brand storytelling, and commercial discipline.
Brands seeking a structured nascar sponsorship proposal process benefit from agency expertise in contract architecture, category protection, and ROI modeling.
For full details on broader opportunities, see our NASCAR motorsport sponsorship agency page.
For deeper insight into market dynamics, visit sponsorship in nascar.
Xfinity chose not to renew its title sponsorship after 2025 as part of broader corporate strategy adjustments, but it remains a Premier Partner within NASCAR.
It is the new official name of NASCAR’s second national series beginning in 2026, following the conclusion of the Xfinity title era.
Industry reporting indicates a multi-year agreement estimated at approximately $15 million per year.
Yes. The competition continues as NASCAR’s Tier-2 national series, now operating under the O’Reilly Auto Parts branding.
The title partnership concluded in 2025, leading to the 2026 transition to O’Reilly Auto Parts.
O’Reilly Auto Parts became the new title sponsor beginning in the 2026 season.
The NASCAR Xfinity Title Sponsor Replacement represents more than a name change. It signals a recalibration of commercial alignment within NASCAR’s national series portfolio and opens new strategic opportunities for brands seeking scalable motorsport engagement.
For organizations evaluating entry into the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, RTR Sports provides end-to-end advisory — from strategy to activation.
Learn more at Motorsport sponsorship agency.
RTR Sports Marketing is a global motorsport sponsorship agency and consultancy, specialized in Formula 1 and MotoGP, and active across all major international racing series including Formula E, NASCAR, WEC, WRC and Dakar, helping brands build data-driven, high-performance sponsorship programs. Experience the power and put your brand in front of millions with motorsport sponsorship.
Sponsor a motorsport team today
Emanuele Venturoli holds a degree in Public, Political and Institutional Communication from the University of Bologna. He has built his professional career at the intersection of marketing and sport, with hands-on experience in both basketball and motorsport. He is passionate about motorsport, design and literature, and focuses on helping brands create effective and meaningful partnerships in high-performance sporting environments.
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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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