Geico, Allstate, have two years to leave series

GEICO will have a two-year "sunset" period to transition out as a team sponsor after Nationwide signed on to replace Busch as the title sponsor of NASCAR's No. 2 series.

Nationwide also will replace Allstate as the official auto, home and life insurance carrier of NASCAR. Nationwide's bank/mortgage division is not part of the sponsorship platform.

GEICO has sponsored Mike Wallace for the last few seasons and is currently sponsoring him at Phoenix Racing. The company is known for its commercials featuring a "cousin" of Mike's.

"We think [it] will give those involved to go elsewhere and potentially migrate into what will be called the Sprint Cup or to the Craftsman Truck Series," NASCAR Vice President of Corporate Marketing Steve Phelps said.

The other conflicts are minimal compared to other potential sponsors, NASCAR Chairman Brian France said. Nationwide already had a deal with Speedway Motorsports Inc., while AAA is the official auto insurance of nearly all France family-controlled International Speedway Corp. tracks.

"They will have some rights that are customary for an entitlement sponsor that will transfer on into the tracks," France said. "They will have their own relationship over time with tracks that represent the series and those are the kind of things we'll be working on in the future.

"They will have a relationship and a position at every venue because that is where the series competes. … We'll be working on a plan that gives the appropriate rights to Nationwide in their category." Scenedaily.com