Nascar Nextel "Cup" Series?

Question

There is the :

Nascar Craftsman Truck Series
Nascar Busch Series
Nascar Nextel Cup Series

http://www.racingone.com/images/articles//20658a.jpg

Why do we say "Cup" series. Nextel's trophy is not a "Cup"?

Next year: Nascar Sprint Series (Not confused with the USAC Sprint Series)

Answer 1

Like the saying goes "old habit's die hard " .I've been a fan since 1993 and got used to calling it the Cup series from the get go.Also with the constant name change you have to have a name for it .

Same goes for the Craftsman Truck Series ,I just say the Truck series .

People pretty much know what your talking about .

Some people ,like those that aren't in to Nascar or who are new to the sport ,think that Nascar is the name of the series rather than Nextel .Then there are those who are outsider's or newbie's that don't even know that there is also the Busch and Truck series.

An besides fan's of baseball don't say I'm going to watch 'major league baseball",fan's of basketball don't say"I'm going to watch the "national basketball association" and fan's of football don't say I'm going to watch the national football association.

Answer 2

Hmmmm.... what a beehive that's been stirred up. From an emotional standpoint,I'm against it but from an objective standpoint,I'm willing to give them their due and let them compete because NASCAR isn't North American Stock Car Auto Racing (although I wonder if it shouldn't be....) but National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing and Toyotas are built in the United States (even though they are designed overseas and the profits from the sale of every Toyota goes overseas to a company that has cost a lot of Americans their jobs). I don't think they will enjoy a lot of success initially but over time I'm afraid because of their deep pockets,I'm afraid they will probably come to dominate the series. I think NASCAR is shooting themselves in the foot by ignoring the people who attend the races,buy the merchandise and support the series with dollars and loyalty. In the short term,the money flow from Toyota's entry will be a boost but in the long run I think the series will decline in popularity because it dilutes the traditional Ford vs. Chevy vs. Dodge rivalry. The only caveat could be the introduction of a 'villain' much like 'professional wrestling'. As long as they don't have TOO much success,they could play the role of the villain and it could become like a shakespeare play with protagonists/antagonists and a 'moral to the story' when the good guys win the championship even though the bad guys won a race or two here or there. If this mushrooms though and you have BMW wanting in and then Honda wanting in and then Porsche wanting in and then Nissan wanting in then we'll have begun to slide down a slippery slope into an international GT series. The loyal fans will abandon the series and the dollars from merchandising will dry up because the owners/fans of some of those other brands don't spend the kind of money to show their loyalty to a team/brand that today's NASCAR fan does. NASCAR should be careful... On a side note,the one change I'd make to make NASCAR more realistic is to mandate that the cars use stock body panels. They can continue to leave the cars as is under the skin but this would force the automakers to make cars that could run at speed ala the Dodge Daytona,Torino Talladega and you'd also be able to recognize the cars without the paint job. As it is,because they all use a common template,the Dodge Charger particularly looks nothing like the stock Dodge Charger.

Answer 3

Because "NASCAR Nextel Stylized Trophy That Kind Of Looks Like Two Checkered Flags Series" is too long.

Don't complain, it means we can refer to Cup cars, Cup races, and so on, without plugging the series sponsor every time we open our mouths.

Answer 4

It is a carry over from the Winston Cup and the Trophy for winning the Winston Cup was a Cup shaped trophy with handles on both sides

Answer 5

Great question! Didn't know but do now. Thanks!!!!