Sprint Nextel and NASCAR announced this week that NASCAR’s premier series will be known as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series beginning Jan. 1, 2008. The logo was unveiled in a press conference at Daytona International Speedway.

Sprint and NASCAR took extensive measures to talk with race fans throughout the logo and name-review process, which included numerous focus groups and surveys. After receiving fan feedback, the two organizations said the decision was clear to focus on the Sprint brand and use a similar logo and name.

“NASCAR has an incredibly loyal fan base and we listened closely to fan feedback to help make this decision,” said Tim Kelly, chief marketing officer for Sprint. “It was a long and thorough process to determine how to integrate our NASCAR sponsorship into our overall brand strategy, while still keeping the NASCAR fan at the heart of the decision.

“The process extended well beyond the NASCAR sponsorship. This is an evolutionary time for Sprint Nextel’s brand. Our new brand campaign focuses on the importance of speed in people’s daily lives and illustrates their ability to get information where they want it, when they want it. NASCAR was built on a tradition of speed, so it was a natural tie for us.”

Sprint replaced R.J. Reynolds’ Winston brand as title sponsor of NASCAR’s flagship property in 2004. From the onset, Sprint Nextel has engaged the company’s resources to raise the sport’s profile and foster a more intimate connection between NASCAR racing and its more than 75 million loyal fans.