In an attempt to expedite the placement of the AT&T logo on NASCAR veteran Jeff Burton’s car, AT&T Inc. filed a motion for preliminary injunctive relief on March 26.
The injunction seeks to allow AT&T to modify the paint scheme of the No. 31 car, which has been sponsored by Cingular since 2001. AT&T, which purchased Cingular as part of its recent merger with BellSouth, intends to phase out the Cingular name.
The issue arises because Nextel, an AT&T telecom rival, sponsors NASCAR’s top series, the Nextel Cup and has forbid other telecom companies from sponsoring NASCAR teams.
Although the Nextel deal prohibits teams to sign new sponsorship agreements with competing telecom companies, Cingular’s sponsorship was grandfathered in through the end of this season because it existed prior to the Nextel deal.
The Cingular contract contains provisions expressly stating what it can and cannot do in terms of logo placement; however, there are no provisions in the contract that prevent a logo change if Cingular is purchased by another telecom company.
Earlier this year, NASCAR rejected a transitional plan to change the paint scheme that would introduce the AT&T globe on the car, leading to AT&T filing suit against NASCAR on March 16.
In a statement concerning the preliminary injunction, John Burbank, AT&T vice president of Marketing said: “We must bring this issue to resolution. The season is well under way and so are our re-branding efforts. This filing is a logical next step for us in the process, and it is one we must pursue so that we can simply move forward with our paint scheme — something our relationship with NASCAR allows us to do.”
