There's a new beer sheriff in town -- Coors Brewing

Beginning with the 2008 NASCAR season, Coors Brewing Company will become the new Official Beer of NASCAR, replacing Budweiser. The new program was announced last week, and the contract is for five years at a rumored cost of $20 million.

The question is, what does its new status as NASCAR's official beer do for Coors?

"This partnership allows us to deliver exciting and relevant programs to our distributors and retailers -- all centered around the number-one spectator sport in the country," said Andy England, the chief marketing officer for Coors, at the announcement.

OK, so what does that mean? It means that Coors will be able to market its products with the NASCAR bar logo on it to race fans all over the country, and if you take into account that something like 73 percent of fans are loyal to the NASCAR bar logo, then it's a pretty good marketing platform.

That 73-percent figure is the highest among professional sports, by the way.

"Coors Light is a brand closely connected with and strongly supported by NASCAR's core fan base. They have a proven track record as a strong brand marketer, and we're looking forward to a mutually beneficial partnership that excites all our fans and helps bring NASCAR to new levels of popularity," said Steve Phelps, chief marketing officer of NASCAR.

Advertising, packaging and promotions are rights contained within the agreement, as is the right to brand the Pole Award as the Coors Light Pole Award. The only significant question is what the pole winners from the 2008 season will do with those awards.

As of right now, Coors' agreement does not include the rights to the annual Shootout race at Daytona in February. Of course, all the pole winners this year won the Bud Pole Award, and it wouldn't make sense for Bud Pole Award winners to race in the Coors Shootout, would it?

The Shootout is a Daytona International Speedway entitlement, and according to reports, there will be a Bud Shootout in 2008 at Daytona.

So why the sea change in official sponsorship? There's already been a change -- from Pepsi to Coca-Cola -- at ISC tracks for next year. Pepsico took its marketing budget to Hendrick Motorsports to sponsor Dale Earnhardt Jr. for 2008 and beyond, through its Mountain Dew and Amp energy drink brands.

It could be that companies are looking for a better fit for individual marketing programs. Or it could be a question of focus.

In the past, such changes have occurred hand in hand with management changes at the parent company.

Back in the day, Beatrice Foods spent a lot of money on IndyCar racing for a period of a couple years, then management changed and the new team did not share the previous team's passion for motorsports.

Consequently, Beatrice Foods disappeared from the racing scene, never to return.

England, speaking for Coors, was quoted as saying that the opportunity was too good to pass up, and getting out of the team sponsorship arena with Chip Ganassi Racing was part of the price.

"Our deal was up with those guys, and this opportunity came up," England told USA Today. "It feels like we are elevating our game."

When you look at the costs of team sponsorship versus league sponsorship, that can make a whole lot of sense. Plus, Coors is now category-wide, as the official beer of NASCAR, not simply one of about 50 different entities struggling for exposure on a weekly basis at 200 miles per hour.

For beverage companies like Anheuser Busch and Coors, it's all about distribution. With the acquisition of the NASCAR rights, Coors can build its platform through its distributor framework and increase market penetration, especially in cities close to where NASCAR races are held.

There had been speculation that Coors would also pick up A-B's soon-to-end sponsorship of the NASCAR Busch Series, but there has been no announcement as yet.

The entitlement of NASCAR's second series was, according to sources, a $15 million investment from A-B; the price tag for the new sponsor started out at a reported $30 million and has since come down after several months of negotiations.

Coors, the third-largest brewer in the United States, is a subsidiary of Molson Coors Brewing Company, and its brands include Coors Light, Molson Canadian, Coors, Killian's Irish Red, Keystone, Blue Moon and Zima.

One interesting aspect of this is that Molson Canada is a huge supporter of motorsports from way back. With expansion to Canada on the horizon, Coors finds itself uniquely placed to take advantage.

"We're proud that Coors Light, the World's Most Refreshing Beer, is now the official beer of NASCAR -- refreshing race fans every weekend from the start of the season to the Chase for the Nextel Cup," England said.