AT&T versus NASCAR Effecting RCR
Hall Of Fame Racing Gets Help, Earnhardt Jr's Sponsor?
AT&T and NASCAR continue their dispute over sponsorship of the #31 car.
Richard Childress, owner of the #31 Chevrolet driven by Jeff Burton, expressed his concerns over the AT&T versus NASCAR legal battle.
“It’s tough right now, with the costs of the sport, the car of tomorrow, the new engine...The money AT&T is spending in NASCAR - not even counting what it’s spending with our team - is three or four times as much as what they’re spending for us. That’s got to be healthy for the entire sport, including Sprint-Nextel.”
Jeff Burton's car has lacked sponsorship logos in the last two races due to the court rulings.
If AT&T is indeed banned from Jeff Burton's Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing may seek help from Holiday Inn, Burton's sponsor in the Busch Series. Or perhaps they could use DIRECTV logos. DIRECTV was affiliated with BellSouth which is now AT&T.
Hall Of Fame Racing, owned by Bill Saunders, Troy Aikman, and Roger Staubach, have sold majority ownership of the racing operation to Jeff Moorad, part-owner and chief operating officer of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Hall Of Fame Racing is the fourth full-time NASCAR Nextel Cup organization to seek financial backing from an outside source.
Hall Of Fame Racing is closely affiliating with Joe Gibbs Racing, so it is very plausible to believe that they would make the move to Toyota along with Joe Gibbs Racing. J.J. Yeley has emerged as a candidate for this ride.
Sponsorship for the 2008 season has not been made official yet for Dale Earnhardt Jr, however, word around the garage is that Mountain Dew and AMP energy drink will share a majority of the sponsorship of the currently unnumbered Chevrolet. Mountain Dew and AMP are PepsiCo products. Additionally, National Guard, which is currently the primary sponsor for Casey Mears, could appear on the hood of Earnhardt Jr's Chevrolet for selected races in 2008.
