Nationwide Announcement Today On Sirius Speedway; M&Ms To Back Busch In 2008

Nationwide Insurance is set to be announced as the new sponsor of NASCAR's #2 series later today.

NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France and Nationwide Insurance CMO James Lyski will announce the multi-year series sponsorship agreement at a press conference set for today at 3 pm ET. Sirius Speedway will carry that announcement live.

Nationwide replacs Anheuser-Busch's Busch beer brand, which has served as title sponsor of the series for the last 26 years. The new deal is reported to be worth $10 million per year for the next seven years. That is approximately the same amount paid by Anheuser-Busch this season, and considerably less than the $25-30 million NASCAR had hoped to attract.

Nationwide is currently involved with the six Speedway Motorsports Inc.-owned tracks, and recently inked a deal to build interactive fan zones at some SMI facilities. The insurance giant is expected to sign a similar deal with International Speedway Corporatioon for some or all of its tracks.

In other sponsorship news, Mars U.S. announced today that M&M's will sponsor the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and driver Kyle Busch for the next three years. Snickers and Pedigree will also serve as primary sponsors in several races next season, with associate backing from Combos, Twix, Skittles, Starburst and Milky Way. Interstate Batteries will remain with the team, serving as primary sponsor for six races.