Penske Racing could lose sponsor Alltel
Penske Racing could be in jeopardy of losing sponsor Alltel, which has agreed to a merger with Verizon.
"When Nextel became the title sponsor, we notified all teams that existing competing sponsorships could stay in the series indefinitely so long as there was no change in branding," NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said Thursday in a statement. "This is the case with the Alltel brand – it can stay on the car indefinitely but if it transitions to Verizon or any competing company then it can no longer run a different sponsor on any car in the [Cup Series]."
AT&T, which bought Cingular in December 2006, took NASCAR to federal court in order to change its sponsorship of the No. 31 Richard Childress Racing car from Cingular to AT&T. In September 2007, a settlement was reached that allowed AT&T to use its trademarks on the No. 31 car through the 2008 season before having to leave as the team’s sponsor.
According to court documents from that lawsuit, NASCAR said that between January and May 2005, Nextel, concerned over rumors that Verizon might acquire Alltel, asked for NASCAR to formally reaffirm the interpretation of the grandfather clause. NASCAR sent a letter to Penske Racing on April 4, 2005. saying, “[S]hould the company’s name change, we will not allow any paint scheme or branding on the car/team promoting this new name or a third party.”
Following up on that letter, an amendment to the Nextel-NASCAR agreement dated June 16, 2006, prohibits NASCAR from allowing Cingular or Alltel to activate its sponsorship under the brand of a prohibited competitor of Sprint (which had merged with Nextel). Verizon is one of those prohibited competitors.
In announcing the merger, Verizon did not make it clear if it expected to do away with the Alltel name and brand.
Alltel is signed with Penske Racing beyond the 2008 season, but its driver, Ryan Newman, has his contract up for renewal. Alltel has been Newman’s primary sponsor since 2000, including full time on the Cup circuit since 2002.
“It’s too early to speculate on the matter," said Jonathan Gibson, Penske Racing Vice President for marketing and communications. "Right now we’re focused on getting the Alltel Dodge into the Chase and back into victory lane. Alltel is a long-term valued partner with Penske Racing, and we look forward to continuing this strong relationship.”
Sprint will let NASCAR take the lead on the issue.
“We are aware of recent news regarding potential changes in the wireless competitive landscape,” said Tom Murphy, Sprint vice president of sponsorships and media. “We support NASCAR’s stance on this topic and it remains business-as-usual for Sprint and our NASCAR sponsorship."
