NASCAR officials are considering alterations to the point system for the Nationwide Series that would deny points for most, if not all, Sprint Cup drivers in 2009, several sources have told NASCAR Scene. Beginning in 2009, drivers in the top 35 in the Sprint Cup standings would not be eligible to receive points in the Nationwide Series, under a proposal being considered by NASCAR.
Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates announced driver Dario Franchitti will make his Busch Series debut Saturday at Memphis. In preparation for the race, Franchitti is scheduled to spend Wednesday testing at Kentucky Speedway.
Nationwide Insurance has signed a seven-year deal to become the title sponsor of NASCAR’s No. 2 series beginning in 2008. Nationwide replaces Anheuser-Busch, which has sponsored the second-tier Busch Series for 26 seasons. The series will be called the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The search for a new sponsor to replace Anheuser-Busch took nearly 10 months.
A deal with Subway appeared imminent in August, but never happened. That opened the door for Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. of Columbus, Ohio, which presented an offer late last week. Subway also re-entered the picture, but NASCAR moved ahead with the offer by Nationwide.
NASCAR was finalizing a deal Tuesday night with Nationwide Insurance to sponsor its No. 2 series beginning in 2008, The Associated Press reports. Nationwide will replace Anheuser-Busch, which has sponsored the second-tier Busch Series for 26 seasons but said earlier this year it would end its entitlement deal at the conclusion of this season. The deal with Nationwide is estimated to be seven years at $10 million a year,
according to a person familiar with the negotiations who requested anonymity because the deal had yet to be completed. A-B was paying roughly the same amount, and NASCAR initially had sought an increase in the price of the series. But despite a flurry of early suitors, NASCAR was unable to secure sponsorship in a search that has stretched nearly 10 months. A deal with Subway appeared to be imminent in August, but never materialized.
That opened the door for Nationwide, which presented an offer late last week. Subway also re-entered the picture, but NASCAR instead moved ahead on Nationwide’s offer. Allstate is the official insurance company of NASCAR, but this new sponsorship deal will likely require Nationwide to take over that role.
Coors Light may become the official beer of NASCAR, replacing Budweiser, according to sources, and Coors may also become the new sponsor of what is now the Busch series tour. And also hearing Coors could be the sponsor of the No. 01 DEI team in 2008.
NASCAR’s search for a sponsor for its Busch series seems to have hit some snags, and it’s unclear if that has anything to do with the NASCAR battle with AT&T over its Nextel Cup sponsorship and NASCAR’s claims of exclusivity, which AT&T is challenging. NASCAR has a $30 million price tag on its Busch tour. One possibility – that NASCAR might persuade AT&T to take that Busch series sponsorship. AT&T’s annual media ad budget is $3.4 billion.
NASCAR’s negotiations with Subway to title sponsor its No. 2 series have hit the skids, sources say, and the sanctioning body has spent the past few weeks revisiting many of the brands that initially turned down the sponsorship. KFC, Dunkin’ Donuts and Allstate, each of which had been contenders for the sponsorship earlier in the process, are among the companies NASCAR has approached in the past several weeks as it tries to replace Anheuser-Busch. A-B sponsored the Busch Series for 25 years before deciding to make this its final season.
Subway, which was considered the frontrunner 30 to 60 days ago, remains in talks with NASCAR, but industry insiders no longer characterize Subway as the favorite. Sources say category exclusivity has been a primary obstacle as Subway and NASCAR try to resurrect their deal. Exclusivity has dominated the news this season with AT&T’s lawsuit against NASCAR and Cup series sponsor Sprint Nextel, which joined the lawsuit as a co-defendant, as well as an earlier turf war between Sunoco and Shell. Exclusivity emerged as a major sticking point in Subway’s negotiations because of the broad quick-service restaurant category. Arby’s, McDonald’s, Jimmy John’s and Domino’s are among the team sponsors already involved in the Busch Series.
Joe Gibbs Racing still hasn’t announced whether it will switch to Toyotas next year, but the buzz is that it will. Tony Stewart’s souvenir trailers were selling merchandise at 50% off regular price last week at the Brickyard, Stewart’s home track and a place where the Hoosier native is wildly popular.
A source at Richard Childress Racing said it has been approached by Hall of Fame Racing, a satellite Gibbs team, about buying engines from the newly merged RCR-Dale Earnhardt Inc., engine operation in 2008. Presumably, HOF is hedging its bets, if it ends up not being part of a Gibbs move to Toyota.
Robby Gordon’s antics at Saturday’s Busch race in Montreal will have him parked for Sunday’s Nextel Cup race at Pocono, Pa. Gene Nead, Gordon’s crew chief, has confirmed that Gordon will not be allowed to race in Sunday’s Pennsylvania 500. P.J. Jones, who practiced in the car Saturday while Gordon was in Montreal, will run the No. 7 Ford in the race.
I really think its inappropriate to park someone’s Nextel Cup ride because they had some problems in the Busch race, especially since they were at different tracks. Park Gordon for the next Busch race, but to penalize him in a different series is just plain silly.
Juan Pablo Montoya will race in his final Busch Series event next week at Watkins Glen, then the team will stop competing. Chip Ganassi Racing officials said Wednesday the No. 42 Busch program was formed only to help Montoya adjust to NASCAR after six seasons in Formula One.
He drove the car to a win in March on the road course in Mexico City, and will try for another one in Watkins Glen, N.Y., next Saturday. After that, Ganassi will stop operating the team because the remainder of the schedule isn’t a good fit with Montoya’s Nextel Cup season.