NASCAR team owner Roger Penske Thursday said that he had “no issue with Brad Keselowski using Twitter during the Daytona 500." Penske said, “Social media is here to stay. All of our businesses are involved in Twitter. Brad is a creative young guy. I take my hat off to him and I think the ... followers he picked up liked it and, to me, our sponsors were excited about it." He also speculated that NASCAR “will likely create a rule to ‘maybe eliminate’ Keselowski's use of Twitter during a race.” NASCAR officials earlier this week said that Keselowski “can keep his cellphone, and all drivers are encouraged to use social media” (AP, 3/1).
TRACKING DEVICES: Sportvision Inc Thursday announced it has extended its partnership with NASCAR Media Group as the exclusive tracking partner for NASCAR-sanctioned events through the ’18 racing season. As part of the extension, Sportvision has broadened its RACEf/x system technology to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series broadcasts on Speed, and has rolled out a new premium tier to the NASCAR.com RaceView 360 subscription product available at www.nascar.com/raceview (Sportvision).
NOT PLAYING GAMES: In Portland, Allan Brettman reports a lawsuit filed by adidas in Multnomah County (Ore.) Circuit Court states that California-based THQ Inc. “failed to create a video game for Adidas that was supposed to be linked with the sports equipment company's digital devices, causing more than $10 million in damages." THQ was “responsible for publishing an interactive gaming software product" based on the adidas "miCoach," which was “supposed to have been launched this January.” But according to the lawsuit THQ “told Adidas in December that it would not be able to finish the game” (Portland OREGONIAN, 3/2).
OWN GOAL: The GUARDIAN’s Jamie Jackson reported EPL club Liverpool G Pepe Reina was featured in a Spanish advertisement that “was pulled after a complaint about its depiction of racial and sexual stereotypes.” The video, an ad “for a multinational insurance firm, was withdrawn from Spanish TV following a complaint from Operation Black Vote, a non political campaigning group.” The ad depicts Reina “meeting a tribe in a jungle scene with the Liverpool player -- whose name translates as queen in Spanish -- attracting the attentions of the leader” (GUARDIAN.co.uk, 2/29).
