NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jamie McMurray’s No. 1 Chevrolet had a big Auburn Univ. logo on the hood for his win in yesterday's Camping World RV Sales 500 at Talladega Superspeedway "in conjunction with car team sponsor Cessna Aircraft Company, which is also a business partner" of the school, according to Jon Johnson of the DOTHAN EAGLE. Every time the car "circled the track, those in attendance and those watching on TV had a view of the big orange and blue AU positioned on the white background." It was "basically free commercial time for the school as it was mentioned more than once on the national broadcast that McMurray was driving 'the Auburn car'” (DOTHAN EAGLE, 10/21). In Alabama, Mark McCarter noted it has "become something of a tradition" at Talladega for cars to "bear the logos of either Auburn or Alabama." McMurray said, "I'm not a huge college football fan, but I know enough to know this would be a 50-50 crowd here, of some liking and some not. It was interesting. It was fun to see the fans in the garage area either high-five you or the opposite" (AL.com, 10/20).
THE BEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD: SPORTING NEWS' Bob Pockrass reported driver Kurt Busch for yesterday's race was sponsored by Wonder Bread, but instead of it being a full tribute to the movie "Talladega Nights," it was a "move by Wonder's new owners to reintroduce the brand in a way that might generate some buzz." Busch said that he had to "convince Furniture Row Racing owner Barney Visser to run the Wonder bread paint scheme instead of having his own company on the car." Busch: "It's just a fun opportunity to make a strong impact with advertising." He added that the deal "shows the role NASCAR can play when a brand has to relaunch" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 10/18). More Busch: "This is a re-launch of a brand. Wonder Bread was off the shelves this summer and ... the parent company came to Furniture Row and said, 'We saw Kurt do that deal with 'Talladega Nights' ... when they were promoting the Armed Forces Foundation (and) what can we do to be part of that same campaign?' Except this is a sponsorship campaign where they want to receive return on investment from advertising on a NASCAR team" ("NASCAR Now," ESPN2, 10/19).
