Source: Nextel will be next NASCAR sponsor

By ESPN.com

Posted 5:49AM on Wednesday, June 18, 2003

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Winston is on the way out and Nextel has next. NASCAR has reached an agreement with Nextel for the Virginia-based wireless communication services company to become title sponsor of NASCAR's top racing series. ESPN's Mike Massaro reported two weeks ago on ESPN Radio that Nextel was being considered as a replacement for Winston. Sources have told ESPN and ESPN.com that the deal was in fact done - though an additional source said there are still a few details to be ironed out - and that NASCAR will make the announcement at a Thursday news conference at 10 a.m. ET in New York's Times Square. A Nextel spokesperson said Monday, however, that it is the company policy not to comment on prospective marketing agreements until they are finalized and would not confirm that the deal was done or that there is a press conference scheduled. NASCAR has been searching for a new title sponsor since RJR acknowledged in February - following an ESPN.com report - that it planned to withdraw its sponsorship after the 2003 season. RJR last year signed a five-year extension of its contract to sponsor stock-car racing's top series. But RJR officials confirmed that, because of uncertainty in the tobacco industry, they had told NASCAR it should find a new title sponsor for the series if it could. It is believed that RJR may continue its sponsorship of The Winston, NASCAR's annual all-star event. NASCAR's top series has been known as Winston Cup since 1971. UPS, Coca-Cola and McDonald's were rumored to be early candidates to replace RJR's Winston brand, though there are reports, including one in the Winston-Salem Journal, that other companies, including Visa, were also in the running. Nextel is known among cell phone providers for its "push-to-talk" feature, which allows people to use their cell phones like walkie-talkies. The signing of the Reston, Va.-based Nextel is part of NASCAR's ongoing effort to gain popularity in larger markets for the sport, which has long been associated with the South. Last week, NASCAR said it will shift a key Labor Day race from South Carolina to Fontana, Calif., outside Los Angeles. The news of RJR's intention to pull out of NASCAR made waves at Daytona in February, but NASCAR officials, believing finding a replacement would not be difficult, didn't seem overly concerned. "In a hypothetical world, if the need (to find a new sponsor) ever came, we think it's a pretty good property," said NASCAR vice president of corporate communications Jim Hunter. Said NASCAR's chief operating officer George Pyne: "I'd say it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for someone out there." It is not known how much the sponsorship will cost Nextel, but estimates as to how much RJR spent on its NASCAR sponsorship range from $15 million to $60 million annually, with the actual number likely being toward the middle or higher end of that range. The amount Nextel will pay NASCAR likely would in part depend on the new name of the series. "NASCAR Nextel Cup," for example, would command a larger fee than "NASCAR Cup presented by Nextel." The sponsorship deal will easily trump the largest stadium naming rights agreement. Reliant Energy pays approximately $10 million annually for naming rights of Reliant Stadium, the NFL Houston Texan's home field, and the Reliant Astrodome. (ESPN's Mike Massaro and The Associated Press contributed to this report.)