NASCAR Denied Injunction To Keep AT&T Off Burton’s Cup Entry

Judge Allows AT&T To Replace Cingular Logos On Burton’s Nextel Cup Car

U.S. District Court Judge Marvin Shoob Saturday “denied NASCAR’s request to stay a preliminary injunction he issued on Friday” that allowed AT&T to replace Cingular as the primary sponsor on Jeff Burton’s No. 31 Chevrolet Nextel Cup entry, according to Jim Utter of the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. Sprint Nextel later Saturday sought an emergency appeal, which also was denied. Burton’s car was repainted with the AT&T logo and his crew wore AT&T suits during the Nextel All-Star Challenge Saturday night, and the AT&T logo will likely remain until the case is heard this summer (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 5/20). NASCAR contends the No. 31 car is not allowed to change its sponsorship from Cingular to AT&T under terms of Sprint Nextel’s sponsorship of the racing organization’s top series, but Shoob ruled Friday that “irreparable injury to (AT&T) outweighs any harm NASCAR or Sprint Nextel may suffer” (ROANOKE TIMES, 5/19). NASCAR Managing Dir of Corporate Communications Ramsey Poston indicated that NASCAR “will continue the legal fight.” Poston: “We will continue to explore every legal avenue available to us” (AP, 5/19).

RIPPLE EFFECT FOR SPONSORS? In Winston-Salem, Mike Mulhern reported several team owners think the ruling “could have a strong ripple effect through the sport.” For example, Sirius Satellite Radio could “lose some of its exclusivity” to XM, and Sunoco “could lose some of its exclusivity to rivals Shell and Texaco.” However, NASCAR said that the ruling “does not have broad implications” (WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL, 5/19). NASCAR Chair & CEO Brian France said, “It’s a pretty narrow case in terms of what’s in dispute. It’s very, very narrow in the general scheme of things.” He added that he is “not worried about any litigation from Sprint Nextel over the possible devaluation of the sponsorship” (SCENEDAILY.com, 5/20).

ALL AROUND THE WORLD: In N.Y., Laurie Flynn reports AT&T is entering the “final phase of one of the biggest rebranding campaigns in marketing history” today, as it officially changes the name of its retail store chain from Cingular to AT&T (N.Y. TIMES, 5/21).