The latest on NASCAR’s search for a new series sponsor to replace R.J. Reynolds Tobacco: According to industry sources, Visa officials have reportedly given NASCAR a deadline for accepting the company’s offer, which other sources have put at $80 to $85 million a year for the next 10 years. That deadline is believed be within the next 60 days, meaning NASCAR executives would have to make a call by July 1 or so.( Winston Salem Journal )(5-18-2003) UPDATE: In the middle of last week it was not hard to find people around NASCAR who thought VISA was the leading candidate to replace R.J. Reynolds as title sponsor of the Winston Cup series. The trail on that story cooled off quickly, however. While VISA is still believed to be one of the companies being talked to by NASCAR about its most important sponsorship tie, there does not yet appear to be a clear lead horse in the race. One potential hurdle in a deal with VISA could be a $3 billion settlement of an antitrust lawsuit filed against Visa USA and MasterCard over debit card payments. VISA’s portion of the settlement must still be approved by a federal judge, would be $2 billion over 10 years. The suit was brought by some of the country’s largest retailers, Wal-Mart and Sears among them, who said that VISA and MasterCard had pressured them into allowing customers to pay with credit or debit cards requiring their signatures. Merchants protested since signature-authorized debit cards carry higher processing fees than cards using personal identification numbers, or PINs.( ThatsRacin.com )(5-19-2003)
