NRA to sponsor NASCAR Texas race

The NRA finalized a deal with Texas Motor Speedway to become the title sponsor of the track's spring NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. The agreement, which is expected to be announced today, will result in the first NRA-branded race at the Cup level. Financial terms were unavailable. Sprint Cup sponsorships typically sell in the high-six figure to low-seven figure range.

The NRA deal comes at a time when the gun lobby organization and gun rights remain a flashpoint nationwide. It also follows NASCAR’s effort to support and raise money for Newtown, Conn., which lost 20 children and six adults in a mass shooting. NASCAR partnered with Swan Racing to put a special Sandy Hook School Support Fund paint scheme on the No. 26 car during the Daytona 500, and there were concerns during the Daytona race weekend that word of Texas’ talks with the NRA might become public and harm the sanctioning body’s efforts to raise money for the Newtown community. Tripp Mickle, SportsBusiness Daily