March 16, 2007

Telecommunications giant AT&T sued NASCAR after racing
series officials would not let the company put its
logo on Jeff Burton's race car.

Burton's No. 31 car is sponsored by cell phone service
provider Cingular, but AT&T recently took full
ownership of Cingular as part of its recent merger
with BellSouth and intends to eliminate the brand
name.

AT&T spokesman Clay Owen said NASCAR officials
repeatedly have not allowed AT&T to switch from a
Cingular logo to an AT&T logo because of their deal
with Nextel, which sponsors NASCAR's top series -- the
Nextel Cup.

He said AT&T filed the lawsuit -- which seeks
permission to make the logo switch and damages for the
``substantial harm'' NASCAR has caused to the company
-- Friday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Atlanta.


``This is really the last resort for us,'' Owen said.
``We've tried to resolve this amicably for months
now.''

In the lawsuit, AT&T says Cingular has spent more than
$100 million to establish itself as a ``loyal
supporter'' of NASCAR, and that nearly half its
customers identify themselves as NASCAR fans.

The lawsuit calls altering the design of the No. 31
car an ``integral part'' of the company's brand name
switch, and that NASCAR's refusal to allow it inhibits
the company's ability to ``attract new customers and
retain existing ones.''

NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said he had not yet seen
the lawsuit.

``Our position is we don't comment on litigation,''
Hunter said.

In a statement, Dean Kessel, Sprint Nextel's director
of NASCAR Nextel Cup Series marketing, said it would
be premature to comment because it had not been named
in the lawsuit.

The legal showdown could have wide-ranging
repercussions for NASCAR and its teams.

Like most leagues, NASCAR signs deals with
corporations allowing them to become an official
product of the series.

But sponsors are the lifeblood of racing teams, which
get the majority of their budgets from those deals.

The tension between NASCAR and its teams has increased
in recent years, as some team executives have
complained NASCAR seems to be competing with them
instead of helping them sign sponsors.

NASCAR's Nextel deal forbids teams that race in the
series from signing new sponsorship agreements with
competing telecom companies. The deal does contain a
provision that allows teams with existing telecom
sponsorships, such as Childress' team, to keep their
sponsors.

Owen said Cingular's contract with Childress' team
contains provisions, required by NASCAR because of its
Nextel deal, that say Cingular can't increase the size
or placement of its logo on the car and can't switch
its sponsorship to another team. But Owen said that
contract does not contain language preventing a logo
change if Cingular is bought out by another company.

Cingular, which is being renamed AT&T Mobility LLC, is
based in Atlanta.

Another Childress driver, Daytona 500 winner Kevin
Harvick, is sponsored by Shell/Pennzoil's line of
lubricants and has faced complaints about the
placement of Shell logos.

Sunoco, the official fuel supplier of NASCAR, was not
happy about the big Shell logos on Harvick's car,
driving uniform and helmet at Daytona. The team will
sport new uniforms and helmets for the March 25 race
at Bristol, Conn.

And Friday afternoon, Robby Gordon's crew was busy
removing decals from his No. 7 car before qualifying
at Atlanta Motor Speedway after NASCAR ruled his team
could not switch Motorola sponsorship from his Busch
Series car to the Nextel Cup car.

``I didn't anticipate this,'' said Gordon, also the
owner of Robby Gordon Motorsports. ``We're still not
quite sure what is happening. NASCAR is working with
us, and we're doing what has to be done.''

Gordon had hoped to move the Motorola sponsorship to
his Cup car after losing another primary sponsor,
Harrah's, a week earlier.

``When we did our relationship with Nextel, there was
a list developed that NASCAR agreed upon, when we did
the contract, of specific brand names of
telecommunications (companies) that were and were not
OK,'' NASCAR president Mike Helton said. ``In the case
of the 7 car, we have got one (sponsor) that was
specifically on that list.

``Every now and then we have one or two (sponsors)
that have a conflict,'' Helton said. ``I think it's an
indication of the size of the sport and the
complexities that come along with the size of the
sport.

``At the end of the day,'' he added, ``there has be
somebody policing the sport to determine what is OK
and what is not OK. That's what we do and that's what
we're going to do.''

AP Auto Racing Writer Mike Harris contributed to this
report.