The title sponsorship arrangement with Sprint ended after the 2016 season. On December 1, 2016, NASCAR announced an agreement with Monster Energy, the energy drink brand, to become the new title sponsor of the premier series. The series name and new logos were formally announced on December 19, 2016. Monster Energy extended the agreement on April 11, 2018, committing to continue through the end of the 2019 season. In 2019, NASCAR declined Monster Energy's offer to extend the deal further, and from 2020 onward the series operated under a tiered Premier Partners model rather than a single title sponsor arrangement.
One of the most significant structural changes in NASCAR Cup Series history occurred during the Monster Energy era. In 2017, NASCAR introduced stage racing across the premier series. Races were divided into three stages, with the Coca-Cola 600 — the series' longest race — divided into four. At the conclusion of the first two stages, a brief caution period was called and championship points were awarded to the top-ten finishers in each stage. The stage winner received ten points, down to one point for the tenth-place finisher. Stage winners also earned a bonus point applicable to their playoff total if they advanced to the postseason. The third and final stage continued to award points to all drivers based on finishing position. This format was designed to incentivize competitive racing throughout an event rather than only at the finish.
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship trophy was a distinctive chalice standing three feet tall and weighing 68 pounds. Machined from aluminum and requiring over 300 hours of craftsmanship, its exterior was decorated with the outlines of all 23 NASCAR Cup Series tracks that hosted races during the era. The cup portion was designed to hold approximately 600 ounces of liquid, equivalent to roughly 37 cans of Monster Energy drink. When the Premier Partners model replaced the single-sponsor structure in 2020, the trophy's design was retained but renamed the Bill France Cup.
The NASCAR Cup Series traces its origins to 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division. Through the decades it operated under the names Grand National Division (1950-1970), Winston Cup Series (1971-2003), Nextel Cup Series (2004-2007), and Sprint Cup Series (2008-2016) before the Monster Energy era. The championship has been won by 32 different drivers, with the record of seven titles shared by Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, and Jimmie Johnson. During the Monster Energy era, the series contested a 36-race schedule divided into a 26-race regular season and a 10-race playoff known as the NASCAR Chase, with 16 drivers advancing to the postseason based on wins and points.
The Monster Energy naming era lasted only three seasons but coincided with the introduction of stage racing, which permanently altered how NASCAR structured its races and awarded championship points. The era bridged the long Sprint tenure and the subsequent move away from single-title sponsorship. Monster Energy's tenure represented one of the shorter naming periods in the series' history, behind both the Winston Cup era (33 years) and the combined Nextel-Sprint era (13 years).