David Francis Jr., a 26-year-old African-American
racecar driver, is "trying to win over CART sponsors and
fans in a sport long dominated by whites," according to
Chelsea Carter of the AP. Francis has "spent much of the
season sitting on the sideline, trying to raise enough money
to be able to compete in the last half" of the current CART
season. Francis: "It's difficult to raise sponsors in this
sport no matter who you are. But I think a lot of sponsors
think there are no African-American racing fans because they
don't see them at the track. For many years, a lot of
African-Americans felt they weren't invited, especially when
you had these fans walking around with Confederate flags.
But I know there are African-American fans" (AP, 5/18).
YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST....: BRANDWEEK's Terry Lefton
reports that "some industry types are touting" 25-year-old
U.S. swimmer Lenny Krayzelburg "as the next Mary Lou Retton,
as far as commercial potential." Octagon "claims to have
signed" Krayzelburg, who is a "favorite" to win Olympic
medals in Sydney, to $1M in endorsement deals, including
"basic stuff" with Speedo and pool chlorinator In The Swim.
Additionally, PowerBar shot a national TV ad featuring
Krayzelburg and Suns G Jason Kidd, Kellogg will feature him
on a box "likely" to be Crispix, IBM has inked him "as
ambassador" for its Olympic Fan Mail Web sites, and Parke-
Davis has signed him "to promote the benefits of sports
science research and biomechanics" (BRANDWEEK, 5/15 issue).
