ATT could sponsor Busch Series
09/07/07 Richard Childress Racing likely will lose AT&T from its No. 31 Chevy if the telecommunications company loses its lawsuits with NASCAR and Sprint. Team owner Richard Childress told reporters at California Speedway that AT&T will have no reason to stay with driver Jeff Burton if his car can't carry the company's logos or decals.
"They can't afford to stay with a blank car," Childress said. "It's all up to Sprint. It's in their hands and NASCAR is being controlled by what Sprint lets them do."
Childress said AT&T is prepared to spend three times the money on print and radio/TV advertising as it does on the team. "They'll spend millions of dollars promoting their products, and in that product they're helping promote our sport," he said. "If they get beat and end up leaving, not only will RCR have a loss, but the sport will lose, too." AutoWeek
[Editor's Note: We would expect that NASCAR will try to place AT&T in one of its other divisions rather than let AT&T’s millions walk out the door. But the notion of AT&T sponsoring the Busch series could be problematic because 1) It makes AT&T look busch league compared to Sprint Nextel, 2) Sprint Nextel will object to AT&T sharing the spotlight with them week-in-and-week-out in the NASCAR paddock with AT&T's name everywhere, 3) Pissed off as a result of the lawsuits, AT&T may take pleasure in giving NASCAR the middle finger on its way out of the sport.]
09/03/07 NASCAR’s search for a sponsor for its Busch series seems to have hit some snags, and it’s unclear if that has anything to do with the NASCAR battle with AT&T over its Nextel Cup sponsorship and NASCAR’s claims of exclusivity, which AT&T is challenging. NASCAR has a $30 million price tag on its Busch tour. One possibility – that NASCAR might persuade AT&T to take that Busch series sponsorship. AT&T’s annual media ad budget is $3.4 billion. Winston-Salem Journal