NASCAR names championship trophy in honor of Bill France Sr. and Bill France Jr.
NASCAR’s Cup Series trophy has a new name.
The Cup Series champion will be given the Bill France Cup at the end of the 2020 season in honor of the two men in charge of NASCAR as it rose to prominence. Bill France Sr. founded the series in 1947 and his son Bill France Jr. was in charge from 1972-2003 until his son Brian France took over.
“As the sport ushers in a new era, it’s fitting that my father’s name is associated with the highest mark of excellence in our sport,” NASCAR CEO Jim France said in a statement. “My father and brother’s vision for NASCAR has been realized, many times over, as millions of fans follow and engage each week with the best racing in the world.”
Jim France took over as the series’ CEO for Brian during the 2018 season after Brian was arrested for DWI and drug possession.
The renaming of the trophy comes as NASCAR enters its first season without a title sponsor for the Cup Series since before Winston came aboard. Winston sponsored the Cup Series from 1971-2003 before Nextel — which subsequently became Sprint — took over in 2004.
The telecommunications company left NASCAR after the 2016 season and the past three seasons were sponsored by the energy drink company Monster. The beverage company, which paid far less than Sprint did at the end of its deal with NASCAR, left as the title sponsor after the 2019 season. In lieu of a title sponsor in 2020, NASCAR has four “premier” partners in Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, Geico and Xfinity.
The Bill France Cup will be the same trophy as the one that was given out to Kyle Busch after Busch won the 2019 Cup Series title.
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
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