RJR to make NASCAR it’s Sole Sponsorship UPDATE: In a bid to comply with the 1998 tobacco settlement, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. officials will announce Tuesday that their sole sponsorship next year will be bankrolling stock car racing’s Winston Cup Series and will abandon its relationship with the NHRA Drag Racing Series. No decision has been made concerning RJR’s future with golf’s $1.6 million Vantage Championship. The settlement agreement doesn’t preclude RJR from using the company name in other sponsorship, such as the golf tournament. NASCAR officials have operated all along with the understanding that RJR wouldn’t turn away from a relationship that dates to 1971, but the manufacturer had to reduce its sponsorship to a single cigarette brand by the end of the year to comply with the tobacco settlement. R. J. Reynolds, through its Winston brand, has long been a major supporter of both the NASCAR stock car racing and NHRA drag racing series. The Winston Cup has been the championship trophy of NASCAR’s premier series since 1971, with the company’s support of the point fund growing from $100,000 the first year to more than $13 million this season. Since 1971, when driver Junior Johnson helped bring the parties together, RJR has contributed more than $112 million in NASCAR purse, bonus and points-fund money. It’s not only pumped in money but also was influential in reshaping NASCAR so that it held fewer, bigger races. Studies reveal that Winston is far and away the No. 1-sponsor, in terms of on-air mentions, during televised NASCAR events. That exposure alone would cost Reynolds countless millions, if it were still allowed to buy the airtime. Winston also has significantly benefited from deep fan loyalty. RJR officials acknowledge the brand’s share among NASCAR Winston Cup attendees and fans is five times that of its national share.(CNN/SI)(7-16-2001) UPDATE: NASCAR kept its top sponsor Tuesday when R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. picked the Winston Cup stock car series as the one program it can bankroll under the 1998 tobacco settlement. Under the Master Settlement Agreement — with which tobacco companies had to be in compliance by the end of the year — cigarette manufacturers had to reduce their sponsorship to a single program over a 12-month period. RJR had to choose between NASCAR, the National Hot Rod Association and the Vantage Championship, a Senior PGA Tour event. RJR said it would end its 27-year partnership with the NHRA at the end of the year. It is still deciding what to do with the Vantage Championship, a golf tournament held near its headquarters in Winston-Salem, N.C., since 1987. RJR can continue to sponsor the event, but it can’t be called the Vantage Championship because Vantage is another brand of cigarettes.(That’s Racin’/AP) and a story: RJR faced difficult decision on sponsorship(7-18-2001)
