Wheels & Deals

The June 3 Nextel Cup race at Dover Int’l Speedway will be called the Autism Speaks 400 presented by Visa. Dover Motorsports VP/Sales & Marketing Mark Rossi said the event “marks the first time a NASCAR Nextel Cup event entitlement has been dedicated to a not-for-profit organization.” The track will donate $5 for each ticket purchased with a Visa card through June 1 to Autism Speaks. It will also auction off a race package including waving the green flag as honorary starter, a flag signed by race participants, the chance to be on stage for introductions, riding in the pre-race parade lap, four skybox tickets and pit passes and a tour of the garage (SCENEDAILY.com, 5/19).

JUAN IN A MILLION: SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL’s Michael Smith reports Texaco/Havoline is “bringing together several of the sponsors at Chip Ganassi Racing for a sweepstakes” around Juan Pablo Montoya’s No. 42 Dodge called the “42 Days of Racing.” Fans will be directed to an online trivia contest, where they can be entered into a drawing for an all-expense-paid trip to the final six Nextel Cup races of the year. Dodge, Memorex, Wrigley and Sprint Nextel are also participating in the contest, which runs June 17-July 28 (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 5/21 issue).

MILITARY SHOW: Ten NASCAR drivers, including Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr., will have military paint schemes for this weekend’s Nextel Cup Coca-Cola 600 and Busch Series Carquest Auto Parts 300 as part of the American Heroes Memorial Day salute. The effort will include a national fundraising campaign backed by Sprint Nextel. Die-cast models and officially licensed merchandise will be available for sale through Motorsports Authentics, with proceeds going toward the campaign (THE DAILY). Victory Management President Dave Hynes said that the goal is to raise at least $1M, a percentage of which will go to the USO to be given to military families (SBJ, 5/21 issue).

LONG-DISTANCE CALL: With AT&T gaining permission to put its logo on Jeff Burton’s No. 31 Nextel Cup Chevrolet in place of Cingular, ESPN’s Angelique Chengelis reported owner Richard Childress “feels like they can really get into the negotiations with AT&T to keep them on the car” (“NASCAR Now,” ESPN2, 5/21).