NASCAR's Whoring Is Finally Catching Up To Them

As we chronicled in an earlier post, NASCAR will sell sponsorship for anything and everything. We wouldn't be surprised to see the Official Tampon of NASCAR any day now. Now though, it seems all their greed is finally coming home to roost.

AT&T files motion to get into NASCAR (AP)

Telecommunications giant AT&T filed a motion Monday, asking that its logo be added to Jeff Burton's car immediately.

Burton is sponsored by cell phone service provider Cingular. AT&T recently took full ownership of Cingular as part of its recent merger with BellSouth and intends to eliminate the brand name.

AT&T sued NASCAR on March 16 after racing series officials refused to allow AT&T to put its logo on Burton's car because of NASCAR's deal with Nextel, which sponsors NASCAR's top series - the Nextel Cup.

If the company (Cingular) no longer exists, and NASCAR says it was acceptable for Cingular to be a sponsor, why won't they allow AT&T to put it's logo on the car? It's the same damn company with a new name. Strikes me as very odd.

The lawsuit seeks permission to make the logo switch and damages for the "substantial harm" NASCAR has caused to the company. The lawsuit calls altering the design of the No. 31 car an "integral part" of the company's brand name switch, and that NASCAR's refusal to allow it inhibits the company's ability to "attract new customers and retain existing ones."

Now the lawyers are getting into it. "Substantial harm?" Let's not get carried away, the name change isn't even completely done yet.

This isn't the first flap NASCAR has run into this year with a sponsor. Kevin Harvick's team got into it with NASCAR over their use of the logos of his team's sponsor Shell earlier this year.

This kind of thing is bound to happen when as NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston puts it, "more than 100 of the Fortune 500 companies participate in NASCAR - more than any other sport." I have news for you Ramsey. If the NFL or the NBA wanted to have over 100 Fortune 500 companies as sponsors, they could. They just aren't the greedy bastards NASCAR is. Heck, the NFL could have every yard marker sponsored, the ball sponsored, and the goalposts sponsored if they wanted to, they just want their sport to have a little more dignity.