NASCAR sues AT&T, demands $100 million in sponsorship flap

JIM UTTER

The Charlotte Observer

Sunday, Jun. 17, 2007

BROOKLYN, Mich. – The fight to keep AT&T from replacing Cingular Wireless logos on Jeff Burton's No. 31 Chevrolet took another, bigger twist Sunday.

NASCAR filed a countersuit against AT&T in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, claiming the sanctioning body has been financially damaged by Cingular's placement of the AT&T logos on the No. 31 in an amount "not less than $100 million."

In seeking relief, NASCAR is asking the court to issue an order allowing it to deny any telecommunications company other than Nextel, including Cingular and Alltel, the right to compete as a primary sponsor in its Cup series starting in the 2008 season.

Alltel is the primary sponsor of Penske Racing South's No. 12 Dodge.

"Cingular's refusal to follow NASCAR rules and accept NASCAR's denial of this paint scheme, and the filing of (AT&T's) lawsuit, (have) undermined NASCAR's authority as the sanctioning body of stock car auto racing," said the suit, a copy of which was obtained by the Observer.

Jim Hunter, vice president for corporate communications, said NASCAR would not comment on pending litigation.

Last month, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting NASCAR from standing in the way of AT&T changing the Cingular decals on Burton's No. 31 Chevrolet after AT&T acquired the company. That case is still pending in federal district court.

Burton's car and the Richard Childress Racing team have utilized AT&T logos on pit boxes and team uniforms since the May 19 NASCAR Nextel All-Star race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

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