After the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, GEICO ended its deal as one of the four Premier Partners of the NASCAR Cup Series. The 2024 season was the fifth season since NASCAR moved away from a title sponsorship model for the Cup Series and instead introduced a new Premier Partner model.
The other Premier Partners included, and still include, Coca-Cola, Anheuser-Busch's Busch Light, and Comcast's Xfinity brand. All three have been Premier Partners since the model started in 2020. Coca-Cola is the Official Fan Refreshment, Busch Light is the Official Beer, and Xfinity is the Official Cable Service Provider.
Despite a search that began long before GEICO announced its departure, given NASCAR's attempt to be proactive in case one of the four initial Premier Partners did eventually decide to pull the plug, NASCAR failed to replace GEICO as a Premier Partner for 2025.
And of course, GEICO's departure from NASCAR didn't just include its former role as a Premier Partner.
GEICO's ties to NASCAR were effectively cut entirely ahead of the 2025 season.
The insurance company, which had been the Official Insurance Partner of NASCAR, had been affiliated with the sport since 2009, when they became the primary sponsor of German Racing's No. 13 Chevrolet. Germain Racing closed after the 2020 season and sold their charter to the Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan-owned 23xI Racing.
This weekend's race at Talladega Superspeedway had been known as the GEICO 500 since 2015; GEICO actually debuted as the title sponsor of the fall race at the four-turn, 2.66-mile (4.281-kilometer) high-banked Lincoln, Alabama oval in 2014 before taking over as the annual title sponsor of the spring race.
GEICO also served as the title sponsor of the GEICO Restart Zone from 2016 to 2024. A deal which initially included select tracks was later expanded to cover the entire schedule, but that deal also came to an end after 2024.
NASCAR is still without an Official Insurance Partner, though the plus side is that they were able to find a new title sponsor for this weekend's 188-lap race at the longest oval on the Cup Series calendar.
Back in October, it was confirmed that Jack Link's, the popular beef jerky and protein snacks brand, would replace GEICO as the title sponsor, beginning this weekend. As a result, Sunday's race is now known as the Jack Link's 500.
Jack Link's, which was founded in 1985 and has facilities in Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, is certainly a welcome addition for Talladega and the Cup Series as a whole, and it would be encouraging to see this deal end up being a multi-year agreement.
But the loss of GEICO represents a bigger problem for NASCAR that has still not yet been rectified, as the search for another Premier Partner has not yet proven fruitful.
The fall race at Talladega is still set to be known as the YellaWood 500. YellaWood replaced 1000Bulbs.com in 2020 after 1000Bulbs.com's two-year run as the title sponsor of the autumn race.
The Jack Link's 500 is set to be shown live on Fox from Talladega Superspeedway beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 27. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the action!