AT&T, NASCAR reach agreement over sponsorship of Jeff Burton’s car
By JENNA FRYER
AP Auto Racing Writer
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - NASCAR reached an apparent agreement with AT&T, and its logos were being put on Jeff Burton’s car following Friday’s practice at Richmond International Raceway.
NASCAR scheduled a 3 p.m. news conference to discuss the arrangement, which should end months of legal wrangling over AT&T’s sponsorship.
AT&T sued NASCAR over its refusal to allow it to replace Cingular as the primary sponsor of the No. 31 Chevrolet after the telecommunications companies merged. NASCAR prohibited the name change because of its exclusivity agreement with series sponsor Sprint Nextel.
NASCAR had said only Cingular and Alltel, two companies involved in the sport before the Sprint Nextel deal, can compete. AT&T believed its 2006 merger with Cingular allows the company to participate and didn’t want to use the Cingular logos because it’s phasing out the name.
A federal judge granted an injunction in May allowing the AT&T logos to be placed on the car, but an appeals court overturned that injunction last month. Burton raced the past two events without logos on his car.
Earlier Friday, car owner Richard Childress said he was optimistic he’d have a sponsorship announcement sometime Friday. He then excused himself “to take a call on my AT&T phone.”