CONCORD, N.C. -- Just when everyone was getting used to saying Nextel instead of Winston, everything is changing again. In a sport that has perfected following advertisers' dollars, frequent name changes are part of the legacy and fabric of the sport itself.

NASCAR's top two tiers of racing are now called something different than they were only months ago.

The Nextel Cup Series, which had been the Winston Cup Series, is now the Sprint Cup Series. This time there's no new sponsor like in 2004 when the sport moved from R.J. Reynolds to Nextel. This time the Nextel-Sprint merger caused the moniker to morph. Longtime fans will remember that before 1971 the top level of racing was called the Grand National Division.

One division down, there are changes as well. The Grand National Bush Series, usually just called Bush, is now the Nationwide Series. Even in it's relatively short run, this series started out under a different name as well. It was first known as the Late Model Sportsman Series, a description still used in other kinds of racing.

Avoiding the name fairy this season is the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Even this division has had one name change in its short dozen-year history. When it began in 1995, it was known simply as the Super Truck Series.

That's not all there is to report on new names. The top-level NASCAR development series is also undergoing some change. The former Bush East and Bush West programs will now be known as the Camping World Series.

It's a lot for the drivers and crews to remember, not to mention the fans. At a Nationwide press conference in January, a spokesman announced the company would be sending out more than 50 clear plastic boxes with a slot cut into the top to all of the race teams and supporting agencies.

Every time someone gets caught saying "Bush" instead of "Nationwide" they have to put a dollar in the box.

At the end of the season, Nationwide says they'll collect all of the boxes, presumably filled to the brim with money. The company will then match whatever is collected and then donate it all to charity.

During the actual press conference that this was being announced, several drivers, members of the press and even a Nationwide employee all slipped and had to use the demo box on stage to pay up.

Below the series level, within individual race teams, there are more changes this year than a normal year, too.

The end of '07 saw sponsors and drivers switching cars, numbers, and teams in large numbers. Some of the most notable: Dale Earnhardt Jr. on a new team, Hendrick, with two new sponsors, Amp and National Guard, in a car with a new number, 88; Kyle Bush also a new team, Gibbs, and sponsor, M&M, and number, 18; and Kasey Kahn is now driving the famous Budweiser car.

There are many, many more name, driver and number changes. One of the largest teams has even changed car manufacturers. Joe Gibbs racing gave up on Chevy and this year they'll all be in Toyotas.

So will all of this change have a negative impact on the sport? Probably not is the guess of most drivers, owners, sponsors and fans we talked to. NASCAR's popularity, more than maybe any other sport, is fueled by what happens off the track as much as who wins a race.

People love following a feud, a sponsor rivalry and speculating on what will change next and how the changes will pan out.

It's sort of like a very fast moving soap opera with one of those unbelievable storylines that goes to commercial with one of those long, hard, dramatic stares into the camera. Instead of that stare, NASCAR's drama is punctuated with fiery crashes at 180 miles an hour into a wall or a photo finish at the checkers.

What's not to like, no matter what they're calling it this week?