Monica Palumbo, the longest-serving Miss Sprint Cup, has informed Sprint she will be stepping down at the conclusion of the current NASCAR season.
Miss Sprint Cup Monica Palumbo Stepping Down After 2011 NASCAR Season
“I am forever grateful to have held onto this role for so long,” Palumbo said in a statement Monday. “It has been a dream job, but you just know when it’s time to close one chapter and begin a new one.”
Palumbo has been an oft-seen and recognizable face for the past four Sprint Cup Series seasons. She started in March 2008 alongside the original Miss Sprint Cup, Anne-Marie Rhodes, and has been on the circuit ever since.
“For many fans, Monica Palumbo is Miss Sprint Cup,” said Tim Considine, Sprint’s director of sports marketing. “There was never a time where she was too busy for the fans, always taking an extra moment to pose for a picture, sign an autograph or just spend a few minutes talking with anyone who approached her.”
If you want to wish her well in person, Palumbo will be at seven of the final 10 Cup races, including Chicagoland, New Hampshire, Kansas, Charlotte, Martinsville, Texas and Homestead.
Palumbo is one of three women currently in the Miss Sprint Cup role, along with Kim Coon and Jaclyn Roney, who replaced Paige Duke earlier this year. Both Coon and Roney are in their first seasons.
Former Miss Sprint Cups include Rhodes (2007-09), Duke (2010-11) and Amanda Wright (2010).
Above: Monica Palumbo poses with fan James Bryant after he cast a vote for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race (Getty Images)
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