Brian France timeline

2003

• June 19: Nextel agrees to title sponsor NASCAR's top series, replacing Winston. Reports have the 10-year deal worth $750 million.

• Sept. 13: NASCAR announces Brian France will replace his father, Bill France Jr., as chairman and CEO.

2004

• Jan. 20: NASCAR modifies the points system for the Cup Series, creating a 10-race "Chase for the Championship."

• Nov. 10: NASCAR lifts its ban on sponsorships from hard-liquor brands.

• Dec. 7: After nearly 15 years as the official fast-food restaurant of NASCAR, McDonald's decides not to renew its deal.

2005

• Feb. 22: Sirius Satellite Radio signs a five-year, $107.5 million deal to become the official satellite radio partner of NASCAR beginning in 2007.

• March 6: NASCAR holds its first modern-era points race outside the United States with the Nationwide Series Telcel Motorola 200 presented by Banamex in Mexico City.

• May 25: Sears signs a five-year extension of its title sponsorship with NASCAR's Truck Series at an estimated cost of $4 million a year.

• Oct. 9: Trying to level the playing field, NASCAR places a four-team limit on Cup car owners.

• Dec. 8: NASCAR completes a series of eight-year TV deals beginning in 2007 with Fox, Turner and ESPN/ABC reportedly worth $4.48 billion.

2006

• Jan. 23: Toyota announces its entry into the Cup and Nationwide series beginning in 2007.

• March 6: NASCAR awards its Hall of Fame to Charlotte. The project is expected to cost $154.5 million.

• Sept. 13: NASCAR, in May 2007, will launch the Canadian Tire Series, a series of 10-12 races to be held throughout Canada.

• Nov. 27: Bank of America agrees to a five-year deal, effective in 2007, to become the official bank, mortgage company and auto financing company of NASCAR.

2007

• March 25: NASCAR conducts its first race with the new Car of Tomorrow race cars intended to be safer and cheaper to maintain, and intended to make for closer competition.

• June 4: Brian's father dies at age 74.

• July 7: NASCAR and Sprint Nextel formally announce that NASCAR's top series will be renamed the Sprint Cup Series beginning Jan. 1, 2008.

• Sept. 25: Coors Brewing signs a five-year partnership making Coors Light the official beer of NASCAR beginning in 2008, replacing longtime sponsor Budweiser.

• Oct. 3: Nationwide Insurance agrees to be the title sponsor of NASCAR's No. 2 series beginning in 2008.

• Dec. 4: Sears' Craftsman brand, sponsor of NASCAR's Truck Series since its inception in 1995, says it will end the deal in 2009.

2008

• Jan. 22: Turner Sports Interactive extends its contract with NASCAR to operate the sport's official Web site, NASCAR.COM, through 2014.

• Sept. 4: NASCAR acquires the Grand American Road Racing Association, a sports car racing series founded by Jim France.

• Oct. 23: Camping World signs a seven-year deal to title sponsor NASCAR's Truck Series beginning in 2009. The deal is estimated to be worth between $5 million and $7 million annually.

• Nov. 14: In a nod to the recession, NASCAR says it will implement a no-testing policy in 2009 in order to save millions of dollars.

• Dec. 10: DirecTV next season will not continue its exclusive NASCAR "Hot Pass" pay-per-view package.

2009

• April 23: NASCAR announces it will move its Cup Series Champion's Week festivities to Las Vegas. The event had been held in New York City since 1981.

• June 12: Cash-strapped General Motors cuts its factory support of teams in the NASCAR Nationwide and Truck series.

2010

• Jan. 21: Responding to criticism that the sport and its drivers had grown too vanilla, NASCAR announces measures designed to give more freedom to Cup drivers to be more aggressive and show more emotion.