NASCAR Touring Series

The **NASCAR Little Caesars Touring Series**, also known simply as the **NASCAR Touring Series**, is a stock car racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. The series was first formed in 1998 as a regional series based mainly around the south with a number of Cup Series drivers often competing alongside local racers.

The series is currently considered a development stop with many of the drivers intending to move on to the upper levels of NASCAR, although there are a number of veteran drivers with no intention of moving on as well. NASCAR banned full-time Cup drivers after the 2013 season but has not banned upper level team owners which has lead to a recent increase in Cup owners establishing Touring Series teams in order to strengthen their development programs.

## History

Originally formed in 1998, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company cigarette brand Winston announced their sponsorship of the series, debuting as the **NASCAR Winston Regional Touring Series**. The series ran veteran steel-bodied Cup cars and served as a support series with many drivers competing in double duty. After Winston left the sport in 2003, Safeway Inc. stepped in for 2004 and the series became the **NASCAR Safeway Touring Series** and then simply the **NASCAR Safeway Series** for 2008. As part of their merger with Albertsons Companies, Inc., Safeway updated their sponsorship for 2015 with the **NASCAR Albertsons/Safeway Series**, although Albertsons would withdraw after 2016 leaving the series without a sponsor for 2017. Little Caesars became the entitlement sponsor beginning in 2019, signing a three-year deal to become the **NASCAR Little Caesars Touring Series**. Little Caesars renewed their sponsorship for 2022 but announced they would not return in 2023. An announcement regarding the 2023 entitlement sponsorship was made at the July 4th race weekend in Daytona Beach. eBay Motors will assume title sponsorship in 2023 with the series being known as the **NASCAR eBay Motors Touring Series** . Races air live and on tape delay on ESPN SpeedWorld on ESPN+.

NASCAR Winston Regional Touring Series (1998-2003)NASCAR Safeway Touring Series logo (2004-2007)NASCAR Safeway Series logo (2008-2014)NASCAR Albertsons/Safeway Series logo (2015-2016)NASCAR Touring Series logo (2017-2018)NASCAR Little Caesars Touring Series logo (2019-2022)Touring Series cars

Cars:

* Cup90: 1998-1999
* WinstonCup98: 2000-2002
* Cup 2000: 2003-2004
* Original Cup: (2005-2007)
* Cup03\_05: (2008-2011)
* **Cup03\_05**

The series was known for using veteran steel-bodied Generation 4 cars from the NASCAR Cup Series, running cars until they are several years old and even after a model's discontinuation in the Cup Series. Following the transition of the Cup and Xfinity Series to the Car of Tomorrow in 2007 and 2010 respectively, the Touring Series continued to use the 2007-style models of the Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS (re-branded as the Impala), Ford Fusion, Toyota Camry, and Dodge Charger. The carbureted V8 engines used by the series are also built under similar specifications to their NASCAR counterparts, and occasionally purchased from NASCAR teams. In spite of the similarities, Touring Series racing is much more affordable than its more popular counterpart, with car owner Robert Dietrich estimating the required budget to run a Touring Series car as "fraction of what a NASCAR Cup Series budget is."

Beginning in 2022, the Touring Series utilize a composite body built by Five Star Race Car Bodies in collaboration with ICR Technologies, and based on elements from the NASCAR Cup Series Generation-4, Car of Tomorrow and Gen-6 bodies. The new body is constructed of a composite laminate blend and designed with easily replaceable body panels, to reduce the costs of fabrication, and to eliminate on-track debris after accidents. The composite body is also significantly lighter than traditional steel bodies.

Alongside the new body, the series debuted a new mandated engine package that replaced the original open motor rules package. The NASCAR Ilmor 358 engine is developed by Ilmor, which has also developed engines for the IndyCar Series and the ARCA Menards Series. The engine is a V8 with a 12:1 compression and maximum 358 cu in displacement.

### Manufacturer representation

Current cars ran in the series include the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, Dodge Charger, Ford Mustang, Honda Accord and Toyota Supra. For the first time since 2010, Dodge has returned factory support to the series and have partnered with Ramsay-Manley Racing to compete as their factory research & development team.