Get ready for the revolving door of sponsor names

For decades they were the brand names that fueled the sport, in the process becoming as synonymous with NASCAR as the cars and drivers themselves. In a racing series where change occurs at a furious pace, Craftsman, Busch and Winston were constants, companies that brought recognition, stability and cash. Those three title sponsors, with a combined 71 years of service between them, helped form modern NASCAR. And after next season, the last of them will be gone.

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Within a span of two years, all three of NASCAR's national divisions will experience name changes, an oddity in a sport where the title sponsorships have typically endured through generations. On New Year's Day the Nextel Cup, which replaced the Winston Cup four years ago, will be succeeded by the Sprint Cup because of a merger within the wireless industry. The sport's junior circuit, known for 26 years as the Busch Series, becomes the Nationwide Series. And after 2008 the Craftsman Truck Series, the only name by which that rough-and-tumble tour has ever been known, will be re-branded by a company yet to be determined.

These are not small changes, not in a sport where "Winston Cup" still escapes the lips from time to time, even four years after the cigarette giant got out of the game. Traditionalists, for whom Busch and Craftsman have become embedded in the lexicon, will surely suffer their tongue-tied moments. And the casual sports fans that NASCAR so covets will almost certainly look at the race rundown crawling along the bottom of an ESPN telecast, and think: Which series is that again?

That's because recognition in sports is bred through consistency. The uniforms of the New York Yankees or the Green Bay Packers are instantly recognizable for one simple reason: they don't change. People who don't follow professional hockey recognize the Stanley Cup, because that same silver trophy has been awarded to the NHL champion for 80 years. The same applies to NASCAR, where even the most casual of followers are able to recognize Jeff Gordon's No. 24 car -- slightly tweaked over the years, with rainbow colors giving way to flames -- or the late Dale Earnhardt's menacing, black No. 3. No wonder track promoters hate the special paint schemes that are endemic to big races. It's like the Red Sox trotting out for the World Series in blue jerseys.

Consistency helps build recognition and helps build fans. The converse is something like the PGA Tour's developmental circuit -- which began as the Ben Hogan Tour, before becoming the Nike Tour, before becoming the Buy.com Tour, before becoming the Nationwide Tour -- which has never really caught on, perhaps partly because people wonder what to call it. Somewhere in the middle is NASCAR, an acronym that on its own requires no further definition. But the names of its three national divisions are dependent upon title sponsorship, and subject to change based on market forces the sanctioning body cannot control. And thus susceptible to times like these, when the familiar gives way to the unfamiliar, and it becomes clear that a 32-year deal with Winston or a 26-year relationship with Busch is the exception and not the rule.

NASCAR knows this is a lot of change for its faithful to digest, and prefers to focus on factors within its sphere of influence. "Ultimately, and here's what we found out already with Nextel and what were going to find out with Nationwide, is that the fans are most interested in the racing and the competitors," said NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston. "There has been a lot of change. We're trying to manage change as best as possible. Ultimately, what's important as far as what we can control is the competition, and we think the competition is as good as it's ever been today." (Continued)