NASCAR officials confirmed Monday that Anheuser-Busch, parent company for the Busch beer brand, has decided not to renew its sponsorship of NASCAR’s No. 2 series after it expires at the end of 2007.

Several companies have already made inquiries about taking Busch’s place, including Wal-Mart, Samsung and Subway, the Observer has learned. Subway is considered the least likely of the three, sources said, although it does already sponsor a Nextel Cup Series team and two races, at Martinsville, Va., and Phoenix.

Other companies could enter the picture as NASCAR’s search expands, officials said.

Giangola said Anheuser-Busch’s Budweiser brand will continue its sponsorship as ‘the official beer of NASCAR,’ it’s sponsorship of driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. and NASCAR’s pole awards. It will also continue to sponsor the annual Budweiser Shootout at Daytona, a non-points all-star race held each February featuring pole winners from the previous season and past winners of the event.

‘On most weekends, we get a very focused message to the consumer, but we’re starting to dilute ourselves with Bud and Busch,’ Tony Ponturo, A-B’s vice president of global media and sports marketing told The Sports Business Journal.

‘In this day and age of competition, the last thing you want is to dilute your own effort.’

Charlotte Observer