GEICO will end its premier partnership with NASCAR after this season, marking the first time the racing circuit will lose one of the top-tier partners from the system it started in 2020. The Berkshire Hathaway-owned insurer has been involved in the sport since at least 2009, and it became the official insurance of NASCAR in 2019 before stepping up to the premier partner level in 2020. That year, NASCAR began using an IOC- or NCAA-like sponsor model for its Cup Series instead of the single title sponsor model it had employed since 1971.
The current spend of GEICO is unclear but the company was paying NASCAR low seven figures annually for the official insurance category rights in 2019, so it’s costs are likely at least at that level now. The company also formerly had a full-season team deal with now-defunct Germain Racing that ended after 2020 and it dropped a title sponsorship of a Monster Energy Supercross team that year. Since then, the company has gone through several major changes in its marketing department, including bringing on Damon Burrell as CMO and making changes with the external agencies it uses.
NASCAR confirmed Geico’s decision to end the premier partnership after this season, telling SBJ in a statement: “The partnership between NASCAR and GEICO has demonstrated the immense value and weekly excitement that two consumer-driven brands can create, and we are proud of the extraordinary brand value, exposure and growth opportunities we’ve built together.”
