Is AT&T going to snub NASCAR, keep their logos on the #31 car?-UPDATED
Quote selected text Published August 16th, 2007 in NASCAR News
UPDATE:
AT&T plans to have its logos on the No. 31 Nextel Cup car for Richard Childress Racing this weekend at Michigan International Speedway.
Although the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned an injunction permitting the logos, AT&T still has time to request a reconsideration of the ruling, and until that process is over, it can keep the logos on the car. AT&T is expected to ask for the reconsideration Friday.
“This weekend, we will be running the car with the AT&T brand,” AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel said late Thursday afternoon while declining to discuss the company’s legal strategy. “The legal process is moving along. I can’t predict what will happen after [this weekend].
“We respect the decision the court has made, and we’re looking at a variety of options.”
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While drivers and pit crews check their cars’ engines and tires before Sunday’s NASCAR event in Michigan, Jeff Burton and his team may be waiting for another new paint job to dry on their No. 31 car.
Or maybe not.
Even though a federal appeals court Monday ruled against AT&T’s claim that it can put its logo on Burton’s car, a company spokesman said Tuesday that AT&T expects its paint scheme to remain on Burton’s car this weekend.
As for the next steps in court, AT&T spokesman Mark A. Siegel said, “We are currently looking at all our legal options.”
Monday’s ruling vacated a federal judge’s May decision that stopped NASCAR from interfering with AT&T putting its logo and brand on Burton’s car.
One of NASCAR’s winning lawyers, Richard L. Robbins of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan, said he hopes AT&T won’t pursue further legal action. “Obviously, one issue is what happens with the race this weekend,” said Robbins, “and our hope is that AT&T decides to honor the 11th Circuit opinion.”
Admittedly caught in the middle is the car’s owner, Richard Childress Racing, or RCR.
“I don’t want to say what will happen Sunday,” demurred Winston-Salem, N.C., lawyer W. Andrew Copenhaver of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, which represents RCR.
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yahhh of course he doesnt wnt them to do anything else bc he knows there gunna loze it and be screwwed
ATT will probably force the issue and hold tight to the ATT logo. But anyway
you look at it RCR is between a rock and a tight spot.
I feel sorry for the 31 team who just want’s to race and may not get that chance if A$$CAR gets its g-string all bunched up over this.
This will be the real clash of the titans with neither one wanting to back down.
This is extremely interesting.
Nascar is retarded, if Cingular changes to AT&T then it should have
all rights to changes and keep its logos, thats why my cell carrier
is AT&T and not Nextel or Sprint
Fans need to mass hatemail NASCAR and NEXTEL for this. Maybe they’ll change their decision when they get thousands of emails that say this decision has done more to hurt NEXTEL than help it. I can’t even begin to tell you the amount of people I’ve talked to who stopped using NEXTEL in protest to this, and that’s just customers I talk to at my job, and we live nowhere near a track.
AT&T will fight back.
Just like Nascar fought back after they lost AT&T will be fighting back to get the rulilg back their way to allow AT&T on the car.
It’s the same company, cingular got bought out like how Nextel was bought out.
It is the same company, just a new name.
AT&T better fight this.
It’s stupid like Sonuco fighting Shell because the Shell logo was so big and the oil part of it (which is the sponsor) was to small in their eyes.
I hate how Nascar cars more about money now then the fans. and it really started in 2001 when ESPN got screwed and lost the rights to NBC,FOX,FX,TNT
Why not paint the car white with blue swirly lines like the logo without words? Is Nascar regulating paint color now?
NASCAR has problems with their teams getting enough sponsorship but they never to seem
to have a problem with companies wanting “the official _____ of NASCAR”…..
I work for AT&T and have always been a huge RCR fan. First and foremost, just because this eats at me, Cingular did not get bought out like everyone thinks they did. Cingular was owned jointly by Bellsouth and a company called SBC. Well, SBC bought out AT&T a few months back, and then changed their own name to AT&T because it has always been more popularly known. Then, SBC (AT&T) bought out the Bellsouth side which caused the name change to AT&T for everybody. This makes since because now, it is known as one big company.
Reason I get into this is because Cingular/AT&T is still the same company. They are owned still by the same people as they always have been. So why should they have to leave because of a name change? I agree with everyone in this forum saying that this is doing more harm to Nextel/Sprint than good. I guess since Cingular/AT&T is the largest cell provider in the country, that they would want to get rid of them. I wish I was the CEO of AT&T, cause I would have purchased sponsorship rights to the Cup Series. Cingular/AT&T have been involved with NASCAR for a much longer time than Nextel or Sprint has. I think it is a damn shame to throw away one of their most popular and most dedicated sponsors in the sport. I blame Nextel/Sprint more than anyone though because NASCAR is doing this just to save their own butts from being sued by Nextel/Sprint.
I was guessing the same as Kyler, and he works there so he should know.
But like anonymous said, they could always change the scheme up
to resemble AT&T. Colors are there just not the logo. Not the same
but helps in the mean time.
i think kyler should submit wat he just wrote to inside nextel cup an raceday an nascar live so everyone who watches will know the real story an not the half detailed side of everything. dont forget nascar.com either.
If they wanna cry get a nextel car in there and beat Burton, Show em up or the logo shows up on the car simple, NASCAR is about competition.
This is just as stupid as Nascar not letting Robby Gordon run Motorola as a sponsor,
for christs sake Nextels phones are made by Motorola!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This just shows how stupid Nascar and Nextel officials really are and it also explains why so many fans and customers have walked away.
Nascar is a bunch of idiots. They used to have the nascar Powerade victory celebration in the Gatorade victory lane. Tell me that wasnt some brainpower coming up with that. And then they got mad when Kenseth or Johnson pushed over the Powerade bottles. Duh…sell both ends of the cow and wonder why people are fighting over the middle.
That was long time ago Montgomery but that NEVER fails to make me laugh.
“for christs sake Nextels phones are made by Motorola!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
HAHAH. That alone proves their stupidy.
This is from an article concerning when NASCAR laughably had issues with Motorola as Robbie Gordon’s primary sponsor….
“”NASCAR is the group that polices the sport, so it’s NASCAR’s role to approve paint designs, approve sponsors on cars, approve how sponsors utilize the paint designs on the cars to promote and activate their relationships,” Helton said.
Helton said that most of the times, these issues are handled before the car gets to the track.
“There is a process in place where the paint scheme has to be approved … there wasn’t time to fix the car before it got here, but we have plenty of time here to correct things,” he said.”
AT&T and RCR may have a rude awakening soon approaching. …Not that I think necessarily it’s right but this is all very humorous.
Also, AT&T is possibly the most powerful telcommunications provider in the world. They are involved in another major court battle at the moment in regards to helping the government tap your phones (all our phones) and monitor all of our data traffic (which they are doing at this very moment). Feel so sorry for them now?
I actually thought this rule applied to all three major series.
Am I wrong since Robby had the Verizon Busch car?
I do agree that NASCAR and NEXTEL are being very petty in this issue. I feel that consistency is already being lost by changing the name from NEXTEL Cup after only 4 years, and now they are trying to get rid of one of the most loyal sponsors in the sport.
Everyone, do a little reading about AT&T. You might not want them in “our” sport after you do.
It’s Robby Gordon’s fault. He drove that car for 3 seasons. He left and the whole wireless communication market hasn’t been the same. Then he couldn’t have Motorola in Cup but had them in Busch as well as Verizon. Blame Robby!