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NASCAR Series flags (U.S.)

Last modified: 2019-08-01 by rick wyatt
Keywords: united states | nascar | auto racing |
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Overview
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
- Race to the Chase
- Chase for the Sprint
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series
Winston Cup Series
Xfinity Series
Camping World Truck Series
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

See also:

Overview

This page addresses the flags of NASCAR's various subordinate or affiliated racing series, including historical flags. Each flag is addressed individually by its file name below. But first, an overview of NASCAR's racing structure.

The National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body that oversees the most prominent forms of professional stock car racing in the United States. Unlike other major professional sports leagues in the US, NASCAR does not own or control any of its participating teams. Whereas football teams in the NFL and baseball teams in MLB are considered franchises of the overall organization placed under the directorship, so to speak, of an "owner" who is still responsible to the overall body, NASCAR teams are considered to be independent companies that have contracted with NASCAR to participate in races sanctioned by NASCAR and agreeing to follow the rules laid down by the sanctioning body. Teams that cannot or will not follow those rules, or who cannot afford to participate in the sport, are not sold to a new ownership group as one might find in the NFL or MLB. NASCAR teams are free to come and go from the sport as they please, though leaving the NASCAR fold, at this point, entails certain financial risks to the team. Still, NASCAR provides only the venues for the races and the rules to race under.

NASCAR has developed a number of racing series in order to accommodate the various types of automobiles that the body sanctions as well to better manage the amount of money required by teams to participate in racing. NASCAR currently has three national-level racing series: the Sprint Cup Series (previously the NEXTEL Cup Series and Winston Cup Series), the Xfinity Series (previously the Nationwide Series, Busch Series, and Busch Grand National Series), and the Camping World Truck Series (previously the Craftsman Truck Series). Each series is intended to be viewed as a stand-alone racing series in its own right; the reality, however, is that nearly all NASCAR teams and fans view the series as a progressive ladder for up-and-coming drivers to prove themselves before reaching the pinnacle in the Sprint Cup Series. In addition to the three national series, NASCAR sanctions two regional touring series for late-model stock cars - the K&N Pro Series East and West - that are considered to be development series for drivers looking to break into the national series.
Randy Young, 15 February 2015

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

image by Randy Young, 15 February 2015

This is the flag currently used by the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. This flag has been in use for at least the past five years, though I believe it has likely been in use since Sprint took over as the title sponsor for the series in 2008. The flag features the black and yellow series logo centered on a yellow field.
Randy Young, 15 February 2015

Race to the Chase

image by Randy Young, 15 February 2015

The 36 races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season are split into three parts. The first 16 races of the season are considered the "Regular Season;" the next 10 races are referred to collectively as The Race to the Chase; and the final 10 races are the Chase for the Sprint Cup, ending with one driver winning the Sprint Cup and the Championship. Both the Race to the Chase and the Chase for the Sprint Cup have their own unique flags in the series. The flag for the Race to the Chase features the Race to the Chase logo centered on a yellow field.
Randy Young, 15 February 2015

Chase for the Sprint

image by Randy Young, 15 February 2015

One of the two flags seen during the Chase for the Sprint Cup, this one features the official Chase for the Sprint Cup logo centered on a black field. I saw this one during the first two races of the Chase, but did not see it at the last couple venues during the Chase.
Randy Young, 15 February 2015

image by Randy Young, 15 February 2015

The other flag seen during the Chase for the Sprint Cup, I saw this one during the final races of the season only, so I don't know if there was a flag change on NASCAR's part as the Chase progressed, or if it was an alternate flag from the beginning. This flag features the Chase for the Sprint Cup logo centered on a yellow field, with a black triangle at the hoist pointing toward the logo.
Randy Young, 15 February 2015

NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series

image by Randy Young, 15 February 2015

Mobile phone service provider NEXTEL took over sponsorship of NASCAR's top series in 2004, renaming it the NEXTEL Cup Series. NEXTEL remained the primary series sponsor until Sprint bought out NEXTEL and took over sponsorship in 2008. Between 2004 and 2008, the flag of the NEXTEL Cup Series featured the black and yellow series logo centered on a black field.
Randy Young, 15 February 2015

image by Randy Young, 15 February 2015

An alternative flag for the NEXTEL Cup Series featured the series logo centered on a yellow field.
Randy Young, 15 February 2015

Winston Cup Series

image by Randy Young, 15 February 2015

From 1971 through 2003, NASCAR's top racing series was sponsored by the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company as the Winston Cup Series, naming the championship trophy and the series after the company's Winston brand of cigarettes. The flag of the Winston Cup Series from 1992 through the end of their sponsorship in 2003 featured the series' black and white logo on a red field, echoing the black, white, and red colors of RJR and Winston cigarettes.
Randy Young, 15 February 2015

image by Randy Young, 15 February 2015

During the 1980s, and through 1991, the flag of the Winston Cup Series featured the red, white, and gold logo of that era centered on the white stripe of a red-white-red tri-bar flag.
Randy Young, 15 February 2015

Xfinity Series

At the end of the 2014 season, Nationwide Insurance left NASCAR as the sponsor of sport's second-tier national stock car touring series and was replaced by Comcast's cable television and Internet brand, Xfinity. The series was renamed the Xfinity Series beginning in 2015 and a new logo was was created using Xfinity's red and black color scheme and the general oval racetrack shape that NASCAR's series logos have been modeled after.
Randy Young, 20 February 2017

image by Randy Young, 15 February 2015

I haven't yet seen the flag for the new Xfinity Series, but the previous incarnation of the series, sponsored by Nationwide, had two flags during its tenure. The last version of the flag, debuted around 2012, featured the then-current series logo centered on a black field.
Randy Young, 15 February 2015

image by Randy Young, 15 February 2015

The original version of the Nationwide Series flag, debuted with the change in series sponsorship in 2008, featured the original series logo centered on a light blue field.
Randy Young, 15 February 2015

image by Randy Young, 20 February 2017

The Xfinity Series flag can be seen flying at the race tracks during the Xfinity Series race weekends. During yesterday's television coverage of Daytona 500 qualifying I finally saw an example of the Xfinity Series flag. The flag features the series logo centered on a red field. There are probably also variants with the logo on a white or black field, but I have yet to actually see any of those examples.
Randy Young, 20 February 2017

image by Randy Young, 15 February 2015

Before it was the Nationwide Series, the racing series was sponsored by Anheuser-Busch, first as the Busch Grand National Series from 1986 to 2003, and then as the Busch Series from 2004 until the sponsorship ended in 2007. During that final iteration, as the Busch Series, the flag featured the series logo centered on a blue field.
Randy Young, 15 February 2015

Camping World Truck Series

image by Randy Young, 15 February 2015

NASCAR's truck series has been sponsored by Camping World since 2008, replacing the original title sponsor, Craftsman. The flag of the Camping World Truck Series features the series logo centered on a royal blue field.
Randy Young, 15 February 2015

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

image by Randy Young, 16 February 2018

In 2017, energy drink company Monster Energy took over sponsorship of NASCAR's top-tier racing series, which had formerly been known as the Sprint Cup Series, the NEXTEL Cup Series, and before that the Winston Cup Series. In assuming sponsorship duties, the series was renamed the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, and a new logo and new flags were introduced.

The flag of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series features the series logo centered on a black field. The logo itself consists of the Monster Energy logo of a fluorescent green, jagged capital "M" shape, with the word "MONSTER" in silver capital letters to the right, stylized to have an ancient runic association. Below "MONSTER" is the word "ENERGY" in fluorescent green, sans serif, capital lettering. Below all of that, and still to the right of the jagged "M" symbol is the NASCAR logo with the addition of the words "CUP SERIES" in lettering to match the word "NASCAR." This flag can be seen flying at all Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series events, and are for sale online from various retailers.

Randy Young, 16 February 2018