at&t is back on his car
RICHMOND, Va. -- The title sponsor of NASCAR's Nextel Cup Series has reached an agreement with Richard Childress Racing that will allow the No. 31 car of Jeff Burton to compete while bearing the logos of primary sponsor AT&T.
"We are finalizing an agreement that protects the integrity of our sponsorship" said Dean Kessel, director of Nextel Cup Series marketing for Sprint Nextel. "We are giving RCR and Jeff Burton an appropriate amount of time to transition to a new sponsor while remaining focused on winning the championship. That is the best solution for RCR, NASCAR, Sprint and racing fans."
Reached in the garage area at Richmond International Raceway, Childress declined to comment, although the team owner did confirm that the deal allows AT&T logos to appear on Burton's car for the remainder of this season.
Details of the agreement were not immediately available, but RCR employees began applying AT&T decals to the No. 31 car and transporter early Friday afternoon. The logos had been stripped from Burton's vehicle after the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Aug. 14 overrruled a temporary injunction from a district judge that had allowed the No. 31 to compete in AT&T colors.
Burton's car sponsor, previously known as Cingular, was grandfathered into the sport after Nextel assumed title sponsorship and exclusive wireless rights. When the name of the company changed to AT&T, NASCAR barred the Childress team from competing in its new colors. Childress won a temporary reprieve in May, when the injunction allowed AT&T to return to the car.
The contract with NEXTEL said if they were already on a car they could stay. AT&T wasn't so they can't come in. If they want to leave Cingular on the car they are allowed but they don't.
