Miller challenges Budweiser

Miller Brewing Co. today issued a NASCAR challenge to competitor Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc., and the temporary naming rights to Milwaukee's Miller Park would be stake. The long-standing "battle of the beer cars" on NASCAR tracks would take on added significance during the 2007 Nextel Cup season if Anheuser-Busch accepts Miller's challenge to the Budweiser team. Miller is putting the naming rights to Miller Park on the line for a weekend series between the Milwaukee Brewers and the St. Louis Cardinals in 2008. If the Miller Lite #2 Dodge, driven by Kurt Busch, finishes ahead of the #8 Budweiser Chevy, driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr., in the 2007 season standings, Busch Stadium would be renamed Miller Lite Stadium for a yet-to-be-determined 2008 series in St. Louis. If the Budweiser car finishes the season ahead of the Miller Lite car in 2007, Milwaukee's Miller Park would be renamed Budweiser Park for a 2008 series in Milwaukee. "We're more confident than ever that Kurt Busch and the #2 Miller Lite team are going to be regular contenders for the Nextel Cup championship," said Tom Long, Miller's president and chief executive officer. "It's too bad for Anheuser-Busch that they didn't take us up on our challenge last year, when Kurt and the team were dealing with the first-year 'new team' transition. Kurt already has one title, and now he and the whole Penske Racing garage are focused on adding to that total. We expect to see plenty of Miller Lite flowing in victory lane this year." The new wager was officially proposed via certified letter from Long to Anheuser-Busch president and CEO August Busch IV, and delivered this morning. Busch had not yet responded. Small Business Times