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AT&T still weighing options on marketing to NASCAR fans
By Bob Pockrass - Associate Editor
Monday, September 01, 2008
FONTANA, Calif. - AT&T won't be able to sponsor the No. 31 Sprint Cup car of Jeff Burton next year, but that doesn't mean it will be nowhere to be seen around NASCAR tracks.
The company is still weighing its options on how to market to NASCAR fans without having its logos on a car. As part of a settlement of a lawsuit against NASCAR over the sponsorship and whether it could change logos on the car from Cingular to AT&T, AT&T agreed to cease its Richard Childress Racing sponsorship at the end of 2008.
“Obviously having to step away from the Cup Series, we’ve been approached by every other racing circuit out there – teams, drivers, racing leagues,” said Tim McGhee, AT&T director of national sponsorships. “We’re evaluating all of our opportunities right now.”
McGhee, speaking following a tribute to Jeff Burton’s 500th start at Auto Club Speedway, ruled out sponsoring a car in the Nationwide or the truck series.
“If we were going to continue down that path, we’d stay with Richard,” McGhee said. “We really don’t want to be in the Nationwide or the truck series now. As the premier brand, we would want to be associated with the premier series within NASCAR, not to say anything against the other two.”
AT&T has spent significant money on advertising as well as sponsoring segments on the Sprint Cup telecasts.
“We can’t do anything at the track, but we’re going through our 2009 media planning, and we did a significant media buy on Fox, TNT, ABC, ESPN [this year],” McGhee said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we retained a presence on the broadcast because it does deliver a very desirable audience to us.”
The sponsorship controversy sprouted after NASCAR signed a 10-year deal worth approximately $750 million for Nextel to sponsor the Cup series beginning in 2004. As part of that deal, NASCAR granted Nextel (now Sprint) exclusivity but grandfathered in existing team sponsorships with their existing brands.
AT&T won’t be able to sponsor a Cup car as long as Sprint is the sponsor of the series. Sprint’s current contract runs out in 2013, although the mercurial wireless industry seems to be in a constant state of transition with mergers and rumored mergers swirling for virtually all companies involved.
“If the situation dictated it or allowed it, we would certainly look very seriously at [returning],” McGhee said. “We fought it so hard to stay in because of how much respect and how good our relationship has been with Jeff and Richard and all of RCR. If we didn’t want to stay in, we wouldn’t have fought it as hard as we did.”
Mentioned Drivers: Jeff Burton
2009 Sprint Cup Race for the Chase Standings
Driver Standings after the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500
| 1 | Jimmie Johnson | 6492 |
| 2 | Mark Martin | -108 |
| 3 | Jeff Gordon | -169 |
| 4 | Kurt Busch | -211 |
| 5 | Tony Stewart | -285 |
| 6 | Juan Pablo Montoya | -289 |
| 7 | Greg Biffle | -321 |
| 8 | Denny Hamlin | -352 |
| 9 | Ryan Newman | -411 |
| 10 | Kasey Kahne | -476 |
| 11 | Carl Edwards | -520 |
| 12 | Brian Vickers | -666 |
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Comments
5 responses to "AT&T still weighing options on marketing to NASCAR fans". Post a Comment.
Jay said:
Sep 1, 2008 at 8:32 PMYet another example of Nascar only thinking of themselves. They got their money from Sprint (which changed it's name from Nextel) but is going to take away a sponsor from the teams because of a name change. Very sad. Only good thing will be the Top 35 rule going away because there won't even be 35 teams thanks to the sanctioning body
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» Confirm Abuse ReportPat Klingseisen said:
Sep 2, 2008 at 6:37 AMCan AT&T look into something like "Track Pass" that DirecTV has? I can't get DirecTV (face the wrong way where I live, and can't put dish on a pole due to association rules), and I miss having that extra option every week (When DirecTV would actually cover a driver I follow!). I now have AT&T U-Verse as my cable TV, and would like some sort of NASCAR pay package! Sponors hop around cars like crazy, it's a fact of NASCAR.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportGregory McComas said:
Sep 2, 2008 at 3:11 PMNascar, in my opinion, has done nothing but gone downhill since Nextel/Sprint took over sponsorship. I would love nothing more in this sport, than for the AT&T/Jeff Burton car to win the Sprint cup championship.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportsaid:
Sep 2, 2008 at 3:20 PMWell nascar has made such a mess of things with the bud shoot out that i'm no surprised there are any sponsors that want to get into nascar. When you have a good sponsor like AT&T try enery thing possible to keep. Does nascar think that by seeing AT&T on a car will make me change to them, well if they do they are crazy i like who i'm with so what is the big deal with Sprit not wanted them around. Just plain stupid. Nascar is doing some of the dumbest things and i doubt that will change.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportSUSAN E SCHUSNER said:
Sep 3, 2008 at 1:23 PMWith all the new changes NASCAR has made in the last few years,my attendence at races has diminished! I have been going to at least 6 races a year. I now am down to 1, any guesses why?
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