About 185,000 fans attended the Daytona 500 on Sunday
and watched Jeff Gordon receive $1M from Winston's "No Bull
5" bonus program for winning the race. Ray Grimm from MD
also received $1M, as he was paired with Gordon in Winston's
"They Win, You Win" program, which links five fans with five
drivers. But Grimm said that the five participating fans
"made a pact before the race to divide" the $1M, so he "will
share his winnings" with them (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 2/15).
Gordon, in his post race interview: "I want to thank DuPont
Automotive Finishes, Quaker State, Pepsi, Chevrolet -- this
was an awesome Monte Carlo today -- and those Goodyear tires
are awesome too. Thank you for all you ... do" (CBS, 2/14).
CAR DEALERS: In Charlotte, Green, Utter & Sorensen
reported that car Owner Felix Sabates said that former NFL
players Jim Brown and Willie Lanier are "looking into the
possibility of owning a Winston Cup team as early as next
year." Sabates, who said that Brown and Lanier "could give
Winston Cup racing a valuable" African American presence: "I
told them that I may invest with them" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER,
2/14). Brown and Lanier's group, which includes former
Browns Trust President Bill Futterer, plans "to meet with
potential sponsors nest week" (DAYTONA NEWS JOURNAL, 2/15).
In Dallas, Mark Zeske reported that the group will be a
"coalition of former athletes and entertainers" and will be
called "Celebrity Motorsports" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 2/14).
BRETT'S FAVRE-ITE DRIVERS: In Richmond, Rea McLeroy
reported that Packers QB Brett Favre, who was the honorary
starter at the Daytona 500, "announced plans to buy into"
Dale Jarrett's Busch Grand National team. Kenny Irwin will
drive 11 races for the team, while Jarrett will drive three
(RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 2/14). In Pittsburgh, Steve
Sampsell reported that Steelers QB Mike Tomczak bought into
the Scott Barbour-owned, Ricky Craven-driven SB III Racing
team, which debuted at Daytona (TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 2/14).
DEALS & DOLLARS: FL-based Discount Auto Parts renewed
its title sponsorship of the NASCAR Dash Series race during
SpeedWeeks at Daytona Int'l Speedway. The company has
sponsored the event for the past two years and has renewed
for another two years (Discount Auto Parts)....A Home Depot
ad, produced by Dallas-based The Richards Group, debuted
during CBS's coverage of the 500 and will run throughout the
year on ESPN. Home Depot is an official NASCAR sponsor
(ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 2/13)....A new one-minute spot
featuring 10 Winston Cup drivers "putting their spin on some
famous movie scenes" will begin airing in 10,000 movie
theatres next month (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 2/15).
HERE COMES THE JUDGE: In Orlando, Youngblood & Rippel
wrote that "many spectators" at Sunday's race "were
indifferent" to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas'
participation as Grand Marshal, "some ... were angered,
while others saw it as a positive sign for NASCAR" (ORLANDO
SENTINEL, 2/14). Also in Orlando, Juliet Macur: "A less
controversial grand marshal would have been better. NASCAR
didn't make the sport more appealing to minorities when it
chose Thomas" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 2/15).
