Xfinity Series unveils new championship trophy

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - When Iowa Speedway hosts its two biggest races this season, the drivers will come to Newton under a different banner than they had from 2008 to 2014.

Comcast's brand Xfinity has stepped in to be the title sponsor of NASCAR's most important feeder series into the top level of Sprint Cup, and has produced great drivers in its history. On Friday at Daytona International Speedway, the series unveiled its new championship trophy, which the two stops in Iowa will help propel drivers toward.

'I think the new trophy is awesome,” said Xfinity Series driver Regan Smith. 'For Xfinity to come in and say, ‘We want something different for the trophy than has looked like for the past 20 years,' and stamp their name on the series; I'm impressed with that and the trophy.

'It's got a new look to it and hopefully it'll be on my mantle in about nine months.”

The look of a trophy is very important to racecar drivers.

It may seem trivial, but it's a tale as old as racing that racers would drive just as hard if there was just the trophy on the line. And it's commonplace for racers (drivers, owners, crew chiefs) to display their trophies prominently at home and their offices as a major source of pride.

So how the trophy turned out was a big deal to Smith and others.

'I think there's an element to it that no matter what the trophy looks like, it's the work and everything that went into it that's meaningful,” Smith said. 'But when you can take and have it look cool, have it be one you want on display - that you don't want to just have it for yourself - you want people to see it. You want to show it off every day. It's going to be fun for whoever gets this one.”

For their part, the people at Comcast and their brand Xfinity took many things into consideration for designing the trophy.

They wanted to convey speed and technology - both things the Xfinity brand and auto racing have in common - as well make it a sought-after item for the drivers to get after. And as Smith pointed out, they wanted something the sport hadn't seen before.

'We wanted it to be different,” said Matt Lederer, senior director of sports brand marketing for Comcast. 'We felt it was important to stand out, and we really feel like it stands out.

'All of the drivers raved about it. ... We want to elevate this series to new heights. If the champion wins something that becomes iconic, that only helps everybody involved with the sport.”

The Xfinity Series goes to Iowa Speedway first on May 17, then returns August 1.

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