from ESPN.com: Young fans of Nextel Cup champion Kurt Busch will be confronted with a new reality if they visit the team’s souvenir trailer at the Daytona 500 this weekend. If they want to purchase a piece of licensed merchandise featuring Busch’s 2005 car, they’ll have to flash identification proving they are 21 years of age. And if parents are looking to purchase Busch merchandise for their children, that’s not going to happen either, as all outerwear will come in adult sizes only. Busch’s young fans could be considered a casualty of the latest alliance in NASCAR, as alcohol sponsorship was expanded to include the hard liquor category this offseason. Jack Daniel’s took Dave Blaney’s car; Jim Beam scooped up Robby Gordon; and Diageo tabbed Busch to tout its Crown Royal and Smirnoff Ice brands. Although NASCAR is requiring each of the companies to spend 20% on alcohol responsibility campaigns, Diageo officials voluntarily decided to impose an age limit on who can buy logo gear at the track, as well as avoiding clothing in children’s sizes. They also chose to attach Crown Royal and Smirnoff Ice diecast model cars to a base that will keep the wheels from moving, hoping to discourage children from playing with them. Fans of Blaney’s #07 Jack Daniel’s Chevy also will face similar limitations, according to Richard Childress Racing’s public relations manager Matt Klug. “Eventually I think they plan to offer a [diecast] car for kids without the Jack Daniel’s logo,” Klug said. There will be a separate line of Blaney clothing coming out for children that does not have Jack Daniel’s name emblazoned on it, though it will carry the #07 car number, which also is a reference to the Old No. 7 Brand. For NASCAR’s part, the sanctioning body is taking a public stance that it is not regulating merchandising. “It’s every team’s decision as to how they want to handle the sale of merchandise,” NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said. “Diageo has decided to do it this way, and they’re taking a leading role.” Poston said that Diageo’s conservative licensing program isn’t entirely new. Dale Earnhardt Jr. model cars made for children are red and have the #8 on it, but don’t have the Budweiser logos. And it’s not an uncommon sight this week at Daytona International to find parents wearing Junior’s Budweiser shirts while their children sport Junior shirts with Oreo cookies and Ritz crackers logos on them. Jim Beam, sponsor of Gordon’s #7 car, says that its diecast cars will be made in a larger scale size to try to keep kids from playing with them.(ESPN.com)(2-16-2005)
