The initial deadline regarding a 2019 entitlement decision was Dec 31, 2017 – It was extended once already
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series was new for 2017. The entitlement deal was signed for two-years in the series. In recent month, discussions have circled regarding a 2019 renewal.
However, Monster Energy has requested another extension of their entitlement sponsor decision deadline.
Previously, the deadline for the decision was December 31, 2017. That’s a date that was listed within the contract agreement.
Monster Energy joined NASCAR late in 2016. Due to the late signing, NASCAR allowed an extension to form a decision on 2019.
They have now asked for yet another extension.
Backup plans?
Previously, NASCAR has stated that they are already exploring other opportunities. They are not leaving all their eggs in the Monster Energy basket.
“There’s no question it was a great season with them and any kind of metric that we run we hit the ball out the park with them. They’re different. We’re excited,” NASCAR President Brent Dewar stated in January.
“It was the right thing to do to give them a little more time to evaluate. We’re letting them do that. We’d love for them to stay for many years, but if they choose not to, we’ve got a great product, we’ll continue on in that regards.”
“There are meetings coming up. For the fans that have had a chance to go to the Monster activities prior to the race, they are a lot of fun. I’ve taken my guests that come to the race and we’ve had a great time experiencing how they demonstrate their brand in a very thoughtful, unique way. We love having them around.’’
Those meetings have come and gone. Monster Energy has yet to agree to a 2019 entitlement deal. The deadline extension has been passed and they are asking for another.
As of now, there’s no word from NASCAR on whether or not they have granted the extension request.
Monster Energy details NASCAR value
In January, Monster Energy hosted an investors meeting. They detailed the value of their NASCAR sponsorship and spoke on the future.
“We have gotten a lot more visibility, a lot more recognition for the brand through the NASCAR sponsorship,” Monster Beverage Chairman Rodney Sacks stated to investors.
“It’s very expansive, it’s on TV, it’s appearing on talk shows. We look at the metrics that the NASCAR folk give us and it certainly does seem to have been enhanced.”
“Now the question is to what degree? That we don’t know. It took us a little bit of time [in 2017] to get up to speed, to get our activation going.”
“We think we’ll see a lot clearer benefits and more benefits coming from that relationship this year,” Rodney Sacks concluded.
Racing Sponsorship
Monster Energy is very involved in racing sponsorship. Their brands are seen across several niches of the motorsport ladder.
In NASCAR, they double dip. The Monster Beverage organization sponsors both the series as well as 2017 Daytona 500 winning driver Kurt Busch.
In addition, they also sponsor John Force Racing in NHRA.
All 3 of those deals are estimated to be a combined $50 million dollar expense for the beverage company.
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