The NASCAR Cup Series is the top series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, from 1950 to 1970 was known as the Grand National Division, then NASCAR Winston Cup Series (1971–2003), then NASCAR Nextel Cup Series (2004–2007), followed by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (2008–2016) and finally the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (2017–2019). NASCAR subsequently moved to tiered sponsorship in 2020 named the NASCAR Cup Series.