The following news and notes are a roundup from the 38th
running of the Daytona 500.
SPONSOR NEWS: The top ten finishing team sponsors were:
Quality Care/Ford Credit, GM Goodwrench, Budweiser, Valvoline,
Exide Batteries, Hayes Modems, Family Channel/ PRIMESTAR,
McDonald's, Tide, Citgo (NASCAR)....Driver Steve Grissom, backed
by Turner's WCW, had wrestlers Sting, Lex Luger and Harlem Heat
in his pit area Saturday to celebrate his victory in the Goody's
300 Busch Grand National (MIAMI HERALD, 2/18)....Actor Butch
Patrick, who played Eddie Munster on the Munsters and is now a
Little Caesars Pizza spokesperson, was in John Andretti's pit
area Sunday. Andretti's car is also sponsored by Little Caesars
(H.A. Branham, TAMPA TRIBUNE, 2/19)....Goodyear ran a full-page
ad in Monday's sports section of USA Today congratulating Dale
Jarrett on his Daytona 500 victory (USA TODAY, 2/19).
CAR NEWS: Ford had eight cars finish in the top ten,
including winner Dale Jarrett's Thunderbird. Chevy had two in
the top ten, including runner-up Dale Earnhardt's Monte Carlo
(NASCAR). Commented Earnhardt: "Those Fords have it and, we
don't" (Frank Murray, WASHINGTON TIMES, 2/19).... Pontiac came up
with a new Grand Prix design to break the Chevy-Ford
"stranglehold," but the car's best performance was Kyle Petty at
No. 18 (WASHINGTON TIMES, 2/19)
NASCAR NEWS: Ben Blake notes some car owners are not happy
about a new requirement that the winning car from Daytona be
turned over to NASCAR's Daytona USA tourist attraction for one
year. NASCAR added $100,000 into the purse for the
"confiscation," but owners still complain that the money does not
make up for the fact the car could win two or three more races
(RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 2/17).... '95 Winston Cup Champ Jeff
Gordon is profiled in the TAMPA TRIBUNE. Holly Cain notes
endorsement contracts, autograph signings and sponsorship
appearances for the entire year have already been scheduled and
the wait for an interview with Gordon can be "more than a month"
(TAMPA TRIBUNE, 2/19)....Frank Murray profiles International
Speedway Corp. and Speedway Motorsports noting that "both
companies earn the kind of return dreams are built on." The
Charlotte, NC-based Speedway Motorsports had a 40% return on
investment last year, while the Daytona-based International
Speedway had a 21% return (WASHINGTON TIMES, 2/18).
