Posted on 06/19/2003 9:10:12 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
By Lee Montgomery, Turner Sports Interactive
June 19, 2003
3:18 PM EDT (1918 GMT)
NEW YORK -- Say goodbye to the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. And say hello to the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series.
The world of stock-car racing changed quickly and dramatically Thursday morning with the announcement that Nextel Communications Inc. of Reston, Va. will back NASCAR's top series for 10 years, starting in 2004.
The deal was announced amid smoke and laser lights in the NASDAQ building in Times Square. And it took less than an hour for NASCAR to proclaim that 33 years of Winston sponsorship was over, and that a new era of the sport had begun.
"Today, NASCAR takes another giant step for the future of the sport," said chairman Bill France Jr., son of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr.
Officials from NASCAR and Nextel sung each other's praises Friday, saying the deal will be good for both sides.
"I think our companies, Nextel and NASCAR, share certain similarities," Nextel president and CEO Tim Donahue said. "Both of our organizations began as up-starts. And, to be candid, not a lot of people took us seriously. But look at us now: America's No. 1 spectator sport and America's most successful wireless company joining forces.
"It's no surprise why we at Nextel would be so interested in becoming part of the NASCAR team. Simply put, it is the most popular and exciting sport in America, and it has the most dedicated fans."
Nextel replaces R.J. Reynolds, whose Winston brand has become synonymous with NASCAR since it joined the sanctioning body in 1971. But in early February, RJR told NASCAR it wanted out of a five-year contract extension it signed last year. NASCAR started looking around, and four months later has a deal some estimate as high as $90 million a season.
Nextel and NASCAR envision expanding its already broad fan base, and there was a lot of discussion about the youth market Friday. RJR, because of advertising restrictions, couldn't go after anyone under age 18, but Nextel has no such restrictions.
"Unfortunately, R.J. Reynolds has been limited in a lot of areas, and they've done a fantastic job, but I see there are very few limitations as to where Nextel can take it," four-time Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon said. "Who knows where they can take it now going forward in the future?"
Some of the first marketing steps, which can't begin until January, appear to be headed toward teen-agers. NASCAR senior vice president Brian France said "the youth market is going to be a market that we're going to go after more aggressively."
"The youth market is one of the most aggressive adapters of new technology," Nextel executive vice president and COO Tom Kelly said. "Sixteen-to-20 year-olds, they don't remember a time when there was not wireless phones. That's a change in the fabric of this country that shows that wireless is becoming a pervasive technology. You couldn't kill it if you tried."
Nextel will also try to reach out to existing fans and try to deepen their experience using wireless communication. There were no details, but Kelly used the example of fans being able to use cell phones to check qualifying.
The details of Nextel's deal began to emerge last week. The negotiating began in late March when NASCAR put in a call to Nextel. The initial meeting took place at Nextel's headquarters, but it didn't take long to get things going.
"From the first day that the two companies got together and started the discussions, we knew that there was a chemistry between us that would make this work," Donahue said.
NASCAR chief operating officer George Pyne said the sanctioning body talked to "four or five companies," but when offered the chance to partner with a technology company, NASCAR jumped.
"There was a great deal of speed, a great deal of teamwork," Pyne said. "They were terrific people to work with. I think start to finish, we probably were 60 to 75 days. It was a terrific process for us."
For Nextel, it was an easy choice, said senior vice president of marketing Mark Schweitzer.
"For Nextel, I would add opportunities like this come along once every 32 years and are not to be a protracted process," Schweitzer said. "We're a very competitive company in a competitive industry. We determined early on that this is something to go after, and enjoyed the process with NASCAR.
"But the opportunity is so easy to comprehend here, that going after it made perfect sense for Nextel."
Terms of the deal weren't disclosed, and neither party was very willing to discuss many specifics. But there were some details that emerged Friday:
The announcement began with the prophetic phrase "A New Era Has Begun," while "Baba O'Riley" by The Who blared on the speakers. And NASCAR didn't take long to honor its current sponsor, Winston, playing a short video in tribute to RJR.
France and Donahue then made formal remarks before Donahue brought Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. to the stage to present them with cell phones to match their car numbers and colors.
The two drivers are clearly a big part of NASCAR's future, and Junior even joked that he's been a Nextel customer for two years.
Now, though, the thoughts turn to the future.
"My father would definitely be proud," France said. "We've come a long way toward fulfilling his vision, and we've come a long way toward making NASCAR racing a national sport with fans spread across America.
"We still have miles to go to achieve our goals, but we are confident we are well on our way, with Nextel as our new partner."
good I woke up early... took me a while to get through all the articles. so, who is Ethyl?
RJR has done a top drawer job over the years. as far as the commercialism, stuff happens. I hope the nextel folks don't steer (heh, heh) nascar down the wrong path. my choice is to watch the racing, and really don't care if they're sponsored by ex-lax.
see ya at sonoma.
this week's beer: Black Dog... this week's entree: buffalo wings with grilled corn.
Also, NASCAR and WINSTON were limited in what they could do, because of the Cigarette Advertising Ban.
RJR Winston is out of Nascar for the same reason you no longer see the MARLBORO RED cars darting around Indy and F1 courses.
That said, I do share the concerns that NEXTEL will not be able to carry the load and precedent RJR has set. We shall see.
As for Road Courses -- Stock Cars do look out of place on them, but it is fun to watch a couple times a year, but only a couple.
Put me on this bandwagon though -- BRING BACK NORTH WILKESBORO!!!!!! WE NEED MORE SHORT TRACKS!!!! I WANT SATURDAY NIGHT SHOOT OUTS ON THE BULLRINGS BABY!!
Why is everyone such a grouch today? Go back to bed.
Thanks for the ping
Smoking is for stupid weak people who have no self-respect for themselves and for anyone around them. And they stink. <--- ;>]
I really think he'll get a win before the season ends. It's hard to believe it's been 9 years since he last won.
Why is everyone such a grouch today?
Don't mind me. I get a lot more pleasant as the end of the work week approaches. Plus, I've since drank my coffee.
Smoking is for stupid weak people who have no self-respect for themselves and for anyone around them.
I was in enough Drug War arguments yeaterday that I'm not even gonna touch this one. :-)
Just a hint .... What NASCAR did was NOT a hint. Sign of the times. When NASCAR dumps cigs, you know it is all over. BTW, have you seen where the Netherlands are shutting down mj by using NO-SMOKING ordinances?
I'm not exactly sure. What I do know is that a few minutes before the thread was pulled, a FReeper got banned. It was apparently enough to warrant a "JimRob nuke special", as I was not even able to use the secret backdoor method of seeing a banned user's posts.
Then there would be two "Bud" cars.
I'm trying to get used to this Nextel thing, but I can't keep the dadgum phone lit.
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