Adding another NASCAR Winston Cup event to its strong schedule the past two years, AT&T – 1-800-CALLATT will sponsor the #49 BAM Racing Dodge this week at Infineon Speedways 350-kilometer race. This will mark the fifth event this season the companys colors have served as primary sponsor on the #49 Dodge of Ken Schrader. AT&T has been an associate sponsor on the car all season. As was announced at the beginning of the season, AT&T will also sponsor the car in two weeks in the 400-mile NASCAR Winston Cup race at Daytona International Speedway in the Pepsi 400, and has already reached agreement with the team for events later this season. “AT&T has been a strong sponsor of ours all season long,” said Beth Ann Morgenthau, who owns BAM Racing along with her husband Tony. “The addition of this race is exciting for all of us at BAM, and knowing they will be with us in the future is exciting too. We have had AT&T on our car throughout this season, and plan on them being sponsors with us for a long time to come,” she added.( Williams Company PR ), Schrader starts 42nd in the race.(6-20-2003) UPDATE: The possibility of an AT&T-sponsored car in what will be known as the Nextel Cup next season took on new life Saturday. NASCAR officials confirmed Saturday they have received a request from BAM Racing to determine whether AT&T could serve as a primary sponsor for its #49 Dodges next season. NASCAR spokesman Terrence Burns said the request was specific to BAM Racing, since AT&T has an “existing relationship” with that team. AT&T had been in talks with several Winston Cup teams, including Roush Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc., about sponsorship in 2004, but those negotiations were squashed when this week’s 10-year deal between NASCAR and Nextel was announced in New York. Only existing team sponsors of rival telecommunications companies would be allowed in the Nextel-sponsored series, which ended DEI and Roush’s bids. However, BAM has had AT&T as an associate sponsor on its cars since the beginning of the year and it has also served as primary sponsor for several races. On Friday, AT&T added Sunday’s Dodge/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway to the list of races with which it would serve as primary sponsor. AT&T has not yet indicated whether it will join BAM full time in 2004, but team co-owner Beth Ann Morgenthau called AT&T’s addition this weekend “exciting.” “We have had AT&T on our car throughout this season, and plan on them being sponsors with us for a long time to come,” she said.( ThatsRacin.com )(6-22-2003)
