NASCAR's "long-range goal" is to regain marketing
rights to all its drivers and teams with a "two-tier program
that grandfathers current" drivers and teams who own their
own rights, according to Mike Mulhern of the WINSTON-SALEM
JOURNAL. Next year, NASCAR would "like to make it an
explicit condition of approval" for new Winston Cup drivers
and teams "to go through NASCAR to make their souvenir
deals, instead of handling souvenirs themselves." But
NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick "isn't happy with the idea"
that a new driver "might not have the same marketing rights"
as a veteran. Hendrick: "The question becomes can [NASCAR]
do as much for a new driver, or will they control him too
much." Hendrick added that he "crossed out some" of the
language contained in the annual NASCAR-owner contracts (see
THE DAILY, 1/24) "because we had already given people
(sponsors) rights under our contracts." Winston Cup driver
Jeff Burton said "for NASCAR to grow the way it needs to
grow, it needs a system like the NFL and the NBA where they
can go to a Kmart or Wal-Mart and say 'We've got all the
drivers and all the teams, let's do a deal.'" But Burton
added his team doesn't want NASCAR to take over all its
marketing rights: "It is a sticky situation, and some people
would get helped by it and some people would get hurt by
it." Team owner Bill Davis: "I understand the Earnhardts
and the Gordons are making a huge amount of money, and
that's wonderful. But if NASCAR can help some of the rest
of us do better by piggy-backing with each other, I think
we're going to have to look at it" (W-S JOURNAL, 2/15).
