hearing that Nextel has said AT&T can NOT sponsor the #49 car next year. NASCAR has told the team it will have to find another sponsor for 2004. Apparently NASCAR gave Nextel the choice because of the grandfathering of current sponsors, and Nextel said no. AT&T has sponsored the team all year. Not sure how this affects the #49 for next season or Ken Schrader.(7-11-2003) UPDATE: BAM Racing officials confirmed Friday NASCAR has informed them that AT&T will not be allowed to become a full-time primary sponsor of their #49 Dodges next season. Cingular Wireless and Alltel, which sponsor the #31 Chevrolets of Robby Gordon and the #12 Dodges of Ryan Newman, respectively, were allowed to remain with their teams when Nextel signed a 10-year agreement last month to sponsor what is now the Winston Cup series beginning in 2004. AT&T has been an associate with BAM all season and has been a primary sponsor on the car for several races. Despite the existing relationship, BAM will not be allowed to use AT&T as the primary sponsor in 2004. “Nextel has blocked the ability of AT&T to become primary sponsor on a full-time basis next year. We’ve been informed of that,” said BAM Racing’s general manager, Gus Larkin. “NASCAR has been very supportive of us and went to Nextel on our behalf and explained to them how critical it is for us to continue this existing relationship with AT&T. And the reply back was ‘no.’ ” NASCAR officials confirmed AT&T’s relationship with BAM Racing would not be allowed to change or expand beyond what it already enjoys with the team. Nextel officials could not be reached for comment. Larkin said there were three points Nextel sought in order to allow AT&T to remain with the team: AT&T marketing personnel would not be allowed at tracks; AT&T would be restricted in what products they could offer; and the use of the AT&T globe logo would be restricted on the car. Larkin said the third item was the main hang-up in the process. “Given those terms, it’s hard to do anything on the race car,” Larkin said. Team co-owner Tony Morgenthau said he was confused over Nextel’s reluctance to allow AT&T to remain as a primary sponsor. “I find it exceedingly hard to believe that Nextel didn’t do due diligence and realize AT&T didn’t have a presence in the series. I don’t think they really cared,” he said. Morgenthau said the loss of AT&T would be hard on the team, but he didn’t think it would be a “death blow.” “We have some other prospects. We’ll see how it all turns out,” he said.( ThatsRacin.com )(7-11-2003)
