AROUND THE OVAL: SEARS TO INCREASE MOTORSPORTS SUPPORT

          Sears, Roebuck & Co. will "increase backing of
     motorsports sponsorships for its Craftsman and Diehard
     brands with an integrated marketing program and additional
     financial support," according to AD AGE.  The new effort
     will "focus on" NASCAR's Craftsman Truck and Winston Cup
     Series, CART and NHRA.  Sears' Event Marketing Group will
     handle the sponsorships (AD AGE, 10/23).
          SONNY CAME HOME: In Winston-Salem, Mike Mulhern wrote
     of the increasing popularity of Dale Earnhadt, Jr.: "In a
     little over a year, the son of the stock-car racing legend
     has exploded from an obscure footnote into a major-league
     business in his own right" (WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL, 10/25).