The Joe Gibbs racing team has signed DE-based MBNA
America Bank as the primary sponsor of its Busch Grand
National team and several other teams, according to Bill
Fleischman of the PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS. Bobby Labonte's
Busch car and those of Gibbs' sons, J.D. (Busch series) and
Coy (All-Pro series), are all part of the deal. MBNA will
also become an associate sponsor of Labonte's Winston Cup
car. MBNA's Senior Exec VP and Dir of Motorsports K. David
Elgena said that the company's involvement with the teams
"is an opportunity to increase our presence in all forms of
racing" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 10/15).
GAME HUNTING: In Las Vegas, Hubele Smith reported that
Boyd Gaming's Sam's Town hotel-casino will sponsor a series
of NASCAR races at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway over the
next three years, marking the "first time a major gaming
company has made an ongoing commitment" to NASCAR. Sam's
Town VP & Assistant GM Blake Cumbers "declined to put a
price tag" on the deal, but said it was in the "hundreds of
thousands of dollars" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 10/14).
