Anheuser-Busch has aligned its Busch brand with the series so well it may be impossible to break the bond. Credit: Autostock

Busch Series: Will it be known as anything else?

So the keg is tapped on the Busch Series sponsorship. Now what?

It seems to be the reoccurring question when talking about NASCAR's warmup to Sundays.

"We're not in a crisis," said Busch Series director Joe Balash just last week when asked about some of the recent criticisms.

You sure?

JOINING THE SEARCH In what may be an industry first, NASCAR and ESPN will join forces to find a new title sponsor for the Busch Series after 2007.  •   Complete story, click here 25 YEARS OF BUSCH In the 25 years since Anheuser-Busch and NASCAR joined forces, the Busch Series has become the second-most popular racing series in the country.  •   Complete story, click here •   Whatever happened to ... •   Where are they now? •   Gone, but not forgotten •   Firsts & Records 2006 BUSCH SERIES •   Top Stories •   Top Finishes •   Top Moments •   Series Honors •   By the Numbers • Top Paint Schemes

The new television deal puts the Busch Series on ESPN 2 for the next eight years. That's good for advertising and credibility, but good luck in September when GameDay gets graduates all fired up about their game while live Busch racing from Dover is trying to counter a dozen college football matchups on any given channel.

Entry lists from the first half of the season were so burnt out from Cup regulars that by the time July hit it wasn't even important enough to talk about. Speaking of July, by that time the series champion had already built a 323-point lead.

Track promoters love it. Big-name drivers give them leverage to sell tickets and attract sponsors.

Guess what? The two most memorable Busch races of the season were won by David Gilliland and Paul Menard.

And now this. After months of knowing, the news became official on Monday when both NASCAR and Anheuser-Busch confirmed the beer maker is not renewing its contract as the title sponsor of the series following the 2007 season. The reason: The company wants to focus all of its efforts on promoting the Budweiser brand within the sport through sponsorships with the Bud Pole Award, the Budweiser Shootout and some guy named Dale.

So now what?

Well for $40 million, roughly triple the amount of Anheuser-Busch's bill, you can put your name in front of "Series" and have it plastered all over ESPN on Saturdays while having your product placed on the hoods of Cup regulars in every Victory Lane from Watkins Glen to Fontana and Michigan to Texas.

For $40 million you can do something Anheuser-Busch -- or Winston, for that mater -- couldn't do for 26 years: advertise to teenagers. There's a reason you never saw Busch Series commercials during Saturday morning cartoons.

For $40 million, you better dig a little deeper in those big pockets.

No matter how much money is spent or which company is writing the check, there's one hurdle that may never be overcome.

JOSH PATE •   E-mail Josh •   More Opinions

Call it what you want, NASCAR and ESPN, but the Busch Series will always be the Busch Series.

This argument was presented by every cigarette-smoking, old-school Winston Cup fan back in 2003 when R.J. Reynolds walked away from the sport it built. The company helped take the Cup Series from a Southern thing to a national sport. It achieved the pinnacle of marketing -- much like Klenex, Q-Tip and Xerox, Winston Cup meant stock car racing's premier league.

I don't think I'm alone in saying I knew Winston was the Cup Series before I even knew it was a cigarette.

Surely it would it be corporately impossible for a sponsor to successfully come in at the snap of Brian France's fingers and disassociate stock car racing with smoking, hammer its name into the most loyal fan base in sports, and re-establish a new identity with all new colors (remember the hoopla surrounding Nextel's installation of yellow signs?).

Nextel had some help, and it came in the word "Cup."

	It didn't take long for fans to embrace Nextel's yellow. Credit: Autostock
	NEXTEL OFFERS ADVICE One Sprint Nextel executive says he would have no problem providng a good blueprint to the next Busch Series sponsor.  •   Complete story, click here

The Cup Series can stand alone. It doesn't need a sponsor or a tag line. Cup Series.

No matter who antes up this time, however, the Busch Series name will be completely different.

"We debate this topic a lot," said Dean Kessel, director of Nextel Cup Series sponsorship for Sprint Nextel. "We want people to use Nextel in front of Cup Series. History says this is the Cup Series, and we like it when people put Nextel in front of that.

"But the Busch Series -- you don't just call it 'The Series.' Busch has put a lot into that."

Like Winston and its 31-year relationship with NASCAR, Busch's 26-year dance was more than just a name.

Anheuser-Busch began sponsoring the series in 1982, when it was known as NASCAR's Late Model Sportsman Division. The name promptly changed to the Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series. Two years later, the company associated the Busch brand with the series.

"We grew with the Busch Series and with NASCAR starting 25 years ago," said Tony Ponturo, vice president of global media and sports marketing for Anheuser-Busch. "Busch was more of a regional brand because it wasn't really out west and it wasn't really past St. Louis. In the same aspect, NASCAR was somewhat of a regional sport as well. So together, we both became national brands."

Suddenly, someone else is cutting in on the dance. Or at least they'll try.

"Unfortunately for us, if the next sponsor comes in and does it right, like Nextel, I think the identity has the potential to change over quickly," Ponturo said. "As a marketer, we have to accept that because of our decision.

	Kevin Harvick had strong suggestions on how to change the Busch Series. Credit: Autostock
	DON'T EXPECT CHANGES Kevin Harvick suggested a number of radical changes to the Busch Series, but don't expect implementation.  •   Complete story, click here

"It depends on what the sponsor does in the first 12-18 months. If the consumer doesn't know they're there, it may take a longer time to establish the name. A lot of that depends on the broadcasting and the presentation."

Indeed it does.

NASCAR is collaborating with TV partner ESPN to select the successor. It's a given that the new sponsor will need to share its toys with the Worldwide Leader.

It's been reported that Subway, Wal-Mart and Samsung are the three-headed monster (Monster Energy Drink was once said to be in the running) who'll fight to pay the price and take over naming rights to NASCAR's junior series. Not a bad list, considering each are household names; you may be eating a Subway sandwich right now while watching your Samsung TV you bought for an early Christmas present at Wal-Mart.

But Subway Series? That'll be a toughie. Try telling someone you've got tickets to the Subway Series on Saturday, and if it's not October in New York, they'll be clueless.

Wal-Mart Series? Not bad. Half the prices, half the distance of races, half the field full of Cup regulars. It could work.

Samsung Series? Sorry, but speaking strictly in sponsorships, it's somewhat surprising that Samsung should step to stock cars since significantly supporting such specifics as international games.

Whoever it is, they'll have their hands full. But there's no reason to cry over spilt beer.

"It's a significant opportunity for a company," NASCAR's director of business communications, Andrew Giangola, told NASCAR.COM on Monday. "It's a unique situation because the company is literally branded to the sport."

For the new sponsor, that may be the problem they face.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.