The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit have now weighed in on which company can have its logos on Virginia native, Jeff Burton’s car.
For the last few years, the car driven by Burton has been bright orange and sponsored by Cingular. When Sprint, then Nextel, took over as Nascar’s sponsor, it obviously sought and obtained language in its contract which would prohibit other wireless companies from sponsoring cars. The wireless companies already in Nascar at that time (e.g., Cingular, Alltel), however, were grandfathered in and allowed to continue.
Once AT&T purchased Cingular, it attempted to change the branding on Burton’s car to AT&T. Nascar and Sprint obviously refused to allow AT&T to do so. AT&T then requested and received an injunction allowing it to change the logos on Burton’s car to the familiar AT&T ones. I have never checked, but I have speculated that the injunction only allowed the logos to be changed, since they kept the car orange.
Today, the Court of Appeals, held that AT&T lacked standing and dismissed the injunction.
It will be interesting to see what Burton’s car will look like at the next race.
With four races remaining the Busch Series season, Kevin Harvick has mathematically clinched the title.
Now the goal is to become the first driver in history to win both the Busch Series title and the Nextel Cup in the same year. Harvick is currently third in Nextel Cup points.
#29-Kevin Harvick has outscored all drivers in the last 10 races earning 1,463 points. He outscored current point leader #48-Jimmie Johnson by 109 points during the 10-race period. Johnson ranks sixth in points earned in the last 10 races (1,354 points). #24-Jeff Gordon currently fifth in points, ranks second in points earned in the last 10 races (1,447).
Aaron Rents . . . announced that for the first time ever, Darrell Waltrip will take the wheel from younger brother Michael Waltrip to race the No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine at the upcoming NASCAR Busch Series race at Martinsville Speedway on the evening of July 22, 2006.
. . .
“I can’t believe it,” said Darrell Waltrip. “The Aaron’s ad campaign has been a lot of fun for me over the years, but I seriously thought I would never get to race that car. I really appreciate Michael and Aaron’s and, of course, my wonderful and supportive wife Stevie, for giving me this opportunity.
Now if we can get Dale Jarrett to drive that truck, maybe we can move on to some new commercials.
It’s all good. I get it everywhere I go, so it doesn’t much matter to me; it doesn’t much bother me.
. . .
‘It was a real, real, real bad mistake on my part,'’ he said. ‘I’ll take a hundred percent of the blame, but he also should take a little bit of it as well.’
Congrats to Kevin Harvick on his third place finish. I did not get to watch the race (working on house), but sounds like it was a good one.
Congrats to Matt Kennseth on winning the Auto Club 500 today at the California Speedway.
Also, Harvick seems to have picked up right where he left off in 2005, finishing 29th. I was hoping he would be able to pull out of this slump, but it is not looking good so far.
Rarely will two of one’s true passions collide. Nascar.com, however, has this article on Virginia and racing.
The article includes a nice bio of Joe Weatherly, a Virginian who grew up in Norfolk and made his Nascar debut in the 1952 Southern 500. In 1953, Weatherly was Nascar’s Modified champ.
In case anyone did not notice, Kevin Harvick will be starting 28th in this Sunday’s Daytona 500. His teammate, Jeff Burton, from South Boston, Virginia, is on the pole.
Kevin Harvick sounds like he is ready to get the new season started.
Although we have heard it before, Harvick seems more optimistic than usual about his chances this season.
‘I’ve never been more motivated and ready to start a season,’ Harvick said. ‘We’ve fallen short on our goals and expectations. I am chomping at the bit to redeem ourselves.’
. . .
‘Richard [Childress, team owner] has taken steps to improve the organization as a whole, and I think that is going to show in 2006,’ Harvick said.
Harvick needs to have a strong season out of the gate or I would bet he will be looking for a new team.
Well, not really a “new” sponsor, since Reese’s is the full-time sponsor on his Busch car (#21) and an associate sponsor on the Cup car (#29). Reese’s announced today that they will be the primary sponsor on Harvick’s Cup car for 12 races, leaving GM Goodwrench for the other 24 races. I assume this is good news, but I expect it is the first step in Goodwrench’s plan to eventually phase out as a primary sponsor.
As some of you all will know, Kevin Harvick is my favorite driver. I have been a loyal Harvick fan since 2000, when he was starting out in the Busch series, and he will continue to be my favorite driver. However, I have been very impressed with a new guy, Denny Hamlin. He drives a Chevy and is from Chesterfield, Virginia. Could he have any more going for him?
What has been so impressive is what he has been able to do in the Fed-Ex car (#11) in just a few races. Those who have been watching all season will agree, no one has been able to get anything done in that car this year. Hamlin has, however, been able to piece together some good finishes and will likely be moving to Cup next year to drive the Fed-Ex car. I think I may have a second driver to watch next year.
The rumor is that Bristol Motor Speedway could be selling out….er… selling its name rights. This is not that uncommon anymore, since Charlotte and Sears Point have both did the same thing.
I suppose if the advantages of this move are passed on to the fans, it is good news. Otherwise, I hate to see tradition sacrificed for cash.
I just got home from a great trip. It was almost a perfect trip, but then Harvick had to fool around and finish 10th. Oh well, that has been his season all year. He runs well, then will either get crashed, have mechanical troubles, or fall back near the end. Either way, I got to enjoy him out front for most of the first half of the race.
Another great aspect of this year’s Richmond race was getting to hang out Tim Kaine and some of his other supporters before and during the race. I had been to some great NASCAR races and I have been to some great political events. However, I think it will be rare that anything can measure up to a day that combines the best of both.
If anyone needs any reassurances of what a great guy Tim is, they should check out an event like this one. As I was talking to him I noticed how easy it is to forget he is the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, not to mention the future Governor of Virginia.
Here is a good shot of Tim and I before the race. (Thanks John).
This is Tim and I chatting about racing, Southwest Virginia, and some other random topics.
Heck, I even bumped into Jerry Kilgore coming out of the restroom. For some reason, though, he was not very friendly to me. I suppose it had something to do with the big Kaine for Governor sticker stuck to my chest.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit have now weighed in on which company can have its logos on Virginia native, Jeff Burton’s car. 
This is fantastic news for Kevin Harvick.
Darrell Waltrip is FINALLY going to drive that dang “Dream Machine” for Michael Waltrip Racing. 
Congrats to Matt Kennseth on 
Rarely will two of one’s true passions collide. Nascar.com, however, has this 
