Post by jkelly57 on Mar 19, 2007 17:25:39 GMT -6
-Bloomberg News-
CALGARY: AT&T has sued the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing to keep its name and logo on a car in Nascar's top series sponsored by its rival, Sprint Nextel.
AT&T sued the association on Friday in U.S. District Court in Atlanta to enforce its right to continue sponsoring the No. 31 Chevrolet Monte Carlo owned by Richard Childress Racing, Clay Owen, an AT&T spokesman, said. The company wants to change the logos on the car to AT&T from Cingular, its wireless brand that will be phased out next year.
Nextel first sponsored Nascar's top division in 2004 under a 10-year, $1 billion contract that gave it exclusive rights to advertise wireless telephone products. Nextel's contract allowed AT&T, which is based in San Antonio, Texas, to sponsor the Cingular car driven by Jeff Burton, and it allowed Alltel to support a team owned by Roger Penske, because those contracts predated its deal.
"There's nothing in our contract that prevents us from changing our brand name," Owen said by telephone. "We have tried to settle this amicably but we were unable to do so. We had to file suit to protect our rights as a sponsor."
The suit does not seek monetary damages from Nascar, Owen said, and Nextel, based in Reston, Virginia, is not a defendant. AT&T has been in discussions with Nascar for several months about the change, he said.
"Nascar's contract with Sprint grandfathered both Cingular and Alltel into competition," a Nascar spokesman, Andrew Giangola, said. "This would allow Cingular and Alltel to participate in the Nascar Nextel Cup Series as team sponsors indefinitely as long as the companies didn't change the scope of their sponsorship or the actual name and brand on the racecar."
Cingular and Alltel are the only wireless brands permitted on cars competing in the Nextel Cup Series, Giangola said.
"This has been and remains Nascar's position," he said.
AT&T values its Nascar sponsorship because fans of the sport are very loyal to their favorite drivers and the exposure has increased sales, Owen said. Nascar said it was the second-most-watched sport on television in the United States, behind only the National Football League.
"We have every reason in the world to stay in this sport," Owen said.
The AT&T situation is the second time this year Childress Racing has run afoul of Nascar's series sponsors. Sunoco, Nascar's official fuel supplier, objected to large Shell logos on the driving suit of Kevin Harvick, a Daytona 500 winner and another Childress driver. Royal Dutch Shell's U.S. unit agreed to make the logo smaller.
CALGARY: AT&T has sued the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing to keep its name and logo on a car in Nascar's top series sponsored by its rival, Sprint Nextel.
AT&T sued the association on Friday in U.S. District Court in Atlanta to enforce its right to continue sponsoring the No. 31 Chevrolet Monte Carlo owned by Richard Childress Racing, Clay Owen, an AT&T spokesman, said. The company wants to change the logos on the car to AT&T from Cingular, its wireless brand that will be phased out next year.
Nextel first sponsored Nascar's top division in 2004 under a 10-year, $1 billion contract that gave it exclusive rights to advertise wireless telephone products. Nextel's contract allowed AT&T, which is based in San Antonio, Texas, to sponsor the Cingular car driven by Jeff Burton, and it allowed Alltel to support a team owned by Roger Penske, because those contracts predated its deal.
"There's nothing in our contract that prevents us from changing our brand name," Owen said by telephone. "We have tried to settle this amicably but we were unable to do so. We had to file suit to protect our rights as a sponsor."
The suit does not seek monetary damages from Nascar, Owen said, and Nextel, based in Reston, Virginia, is not a defendant. AT&T has been in discussions with Nascar for several months about the change, he said.
"Nascar's contract with Sprint grandfathered both Cingular and Alltel into competition," a Nascar spokesman, Andrew Giangola, said. "This would allow Cingular and Alltel to participate in the Nascar Nextel Cup Series as team sponsors indefinitely as long as the companies didn't change the scope of their sponsorship or the actual name and brand on the racecar."
Cingular and Alltel are the only wireless brands permitted on cars competing in the Nextel Cup Series, Giangola said.
"This has been and remains Nascar's position," he said.
AT&T values its Nascar sponsorship because fans of the sport are very loyal to their favorite drivers and the exposure has increased sales, Owen said. Nascar said it was the second-most-watched sport on television in the United States, behind only the National Football League.
"We have every reason in the world to stay in this sport," Owen said.
The AT&T situation is the second time this year Childress Racing has run afoul of Nascar's series sponsors. Sunoco, Nascar's official fuel supplier, objected to large Shell logos on the driving suit of Kevin Harvick, a Daytona 500 winner and another Childress driver. Royal Dutch Shell's U.S. unit agreed to make the logo smaller.