Sprint Cup Series

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (often shortened to Sprint Cup or the Cup Series) is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series is named for its current sponsor, the Sprint Corporation, and has been known by other names in the past. It was originally known as the Strictly Stock Series (1949) and shortly became the Grand National Series (1950–1970). While leasing its naming rights to R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, it was known as the Winston Cup Series (1971–2003). A similar deal was made with Nextel in 2003, becoming the Nextel Cup Series (2004–2007) and it became the Sprint Cup after Sprint acquired Nextel in 2005. The name "Sprint" refers specifically to the subsidiary of Japanese telecommunications company SoftBank which is the entitlement sponsor; sprint car racing is a separate racing discipline.

The drivers' champion is determined by a point system where points are given according to finishing placement and laps led. The season is divided into two segments. After the first 26 races, 16 drivers, selected primarily on the basis of wins during the first 26 races, are seeded based on their total number of wins and compete in the last 10 races with the difference in points greatly minimized. This is called the Chase for the Championship.

Monster Energy

Monster Energy is an energy drink introduced by Hansen Natural Corp. (HANS) in April 2002. The regular flavor comes in a black can with a green tear-shaped M logo. The company is also known for supporting many extreme sports events such as BMX, Motocross, Speedway, skateboarding and snowboarding, as well as eSports. In addition, Monster Energy promotes a number of music bands around the world, like Asking Alexandria, The Word Alive, Maximum the Hormone and Shinedown.

There are 34 different drinks under the Monster brand in North America, including its core Monster Energy line, Java Monster, Extra Strength, Import, Rehab and Muscle Monster.

Advertising

Monster Energy is advertised mainly through sponsorship of sporting events, including motocross, BMX, mountain biking, snowboarding, skateboarding, car racing, speedway, and also through sponsorship of eSports events. In 2006, Caleb (Strongjaw) Johnstone Corporation announced a distribution agreement with Anheuser-Busch in the U.S. and Grupo Jumex in Mexico.

New Hampshire Motor Speedway

New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a 1.058-mile (1.703 km) oval speedway located in Loudon, New Hampshire which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since the early 1990s, as well as the longest-running motorcycle race in North America, the Loudon Classic. Nicknamed "The Magic Mile", the speedway is often converted into a 1.6-mile (2.6 km) road course, which includes much of the oval.

The track was originally the site of Bryar Motorsports Park before being purchased and redeveloped by Bob Bahre. The track is currently one of eight major NASCAR tracks owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports.

History

The track opened as New Hampshire International Speedway in June 1990, after nine months of construction following the Bahre family's purchase of the Bryar Motorsports Park. The existing road circuit was redeveloped into a multi-purpose track, with NASCAR added to the popular Loudon Classic motorcycle, WKA go-kart and SCCA races on the complex. It was the largest speedway in New England, and later expansion has made it the largest sports and entertainment venue of any type in the region. Its construction was extremely unusual for a race track, in that it was designed and constructed without consulting engineers, and using just one surveyor (whose primary job was to plant stakes) to help. NASCAR made its debut at the track in July 1990, with a Busch Series race won by Tommy Ellis. For three years, the Busch Series hosted a pair of races at the track each year.

New Hampshire

New Hampshire (US ⁱ/nuːˈhæmpʃər/) is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the north. New Hampshire is the 5th smallest by land area and the 9th least populous of the 50 United States.

In January 1776 it became the first of the British North American colonies to establish a government independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain's authority and it was the first to establish its own state constitution. Six months later, it became one of the original 13 states that founded the United States of America, and in June 1788 it was the ninth state to ratify the Constitution, bringing that document into effect.

Concord is the state capital, while Manchester is the largest city in the state. It has no general sales tax, nor is personal income (other than interest and dividends) taxed at either the state or local level. It is known for the New Hampshire primary, the first primary in the U.S. presidential election cycle. Its license plates carry the state motto, "Live Free or Die". The motto comes from a statement written by the Revolutionary War general John Stark, hero of the Battle of Bennington. The state's nickname, "The Granite State", refers to its extensive granite formations and quarries.

Sprint Cup

Sprint Cup may refer to:

See also