Negotiations are under way with several companies as possible successors to Winston as title sponsor of NASCAR’s top series. Names regularly mentioned in recent speculation include McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Anheuser-Busch and VISA. That speculation has been growing since January, when R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. said it had given NASCAR permission to look for a new sponsor for the Winston Cup Series. Brian France, senior vice president of NASCAR and the grandson of the founder of the sanctioning body, confirmed Thursday to a group of Associated Press sports editors at a meeting in New York that the sanctioning body was in negotiations with several companies. France declined to identify them.( ESPN/AP )(4-26-2003)
