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Nationwide ending title sponsorship of Nationwide Series after 2014

Nationwide Insurance will end its title sponsorship of the Nationwide Series after its contract is up at the end of 2014, but still plans to be active in the NASCAR world and increase its sponsorship.

"Being a series sponsor was the right thing at that particular time but we see Sundays (for Cup races) as the next step. You'll see us lean into this even more at the Cup level," Nationwide CMO Matt Jauchius told the Sports Business Journal "... I will spend more money in 2014 and 2015 (in NASCAR) by shifting assets around a bit."

According to SBJ, the rights to sponsor the Nationwide Series were approximately $8 million a year, far less than a full-season of sponsorship for a Sprint Cup team. We're not business or economics majors here, but that seems like one hell of a deal for whomever is looking to jump at the series sponsorship opportunity in 2015.

Nationwide is sponsoring Ricky Stenhouse Jr., a two-time champion of the Nationwide Series, in the Sprint Cup Series for seven races this season. Without the series title sponsorship, that could increase and/or Nationwide could leverage other NASCAR personalities during Sprint Cup Sundays.

Before Nationwide took over the sponsorship of NASCAR's second-tier series, it was known as the Busch Grand National Series.