NASCAR shifted its sponsorship model after the 2019 season, dropping Monster Energy as the title sponsor of the Cup Series and instead moving to a model in which four companies serve as Premier Partners.
Coca-Cola is the Official Fan Refreshment, Anheuser-Busch's Busch Light is the Official Beer, and Comcast's Xfinity is the Official Cable Service Provider. All have been Premier Partners of the series since the model shifted in 2020.
Additionally, GEICO signed on as the Official Insurance Provider of NASCAR, a role it had held since 2019, and it also served as one of the four original Premier Partners.
But GEICO left the sport entirely after the 2024 season, ending a relationship that dated back far beyond its introduction as one of the sport's four Premier Partners.
The 2009 season marked the company's entry into the sport when it began serving as the primary sponsor of Germain Racing's No. 13 Chevrolet.
GEICO was also the title sponsor of the fall race at Talladega Superspeedway in 2014 before serving as the title sponsor of the track's spring race, the GEICO 500, each year from 2015 to 2024. It also served as the title sponsor of the GEICO Restart Zone through the 2024 season. That deal, which started in 2016, initially only covered select tracks but was later expanded to include the full schedule.
NASCAR finally replaces GEICO for 2026
Even before GEICO's departure, NASCAR had been searching for another Premier Partner, just in case one of the four existing Premier Partners decided to end their deals with the sanctioning body. GEICO did end up leaving, and it was not replaced for the 2025 season, leaving only Coca-Cola, Busch Light, and Xfinity.
But a replacement was confirmed toward the end of the 2025 season, and lo and behold, it is indeed another insurance company.
Freeway Insurance is set to become a Premier Partner of NASCAR's top series starting in 2026. The division of Confie, which is the largest independent personal lines agency and broker in the United States, is also set to serve as the title sponsor of the mid-October race at Phoenix Raceway.
Freeway has been a longtime partner of Daniel Suarez, having joined him during his first season at Trackhouse Racing in 2021. They are set to remain partnered with the Mexican driver following his switch to Spire Motorsports to drive the No. 7 Chevrolet in 2026.
In other Premier Partnership news, despite having been replaced by O'Reilly Auto Parts as the title sponsor of NASCAR's second-level national series after 11 years, Xfinity signed a multi-year deal with NASCAR to continue its role as a Premier Partner in early 2025.
The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season is scheduled to get underway with the 68th annual Daytona 500, which is set to be shown live on Fox from Daytona International Speedway beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 15. Begin a free trial of FuboTV and don't miss it!