NASCAR countersues AT&T for $100 million, moves to ban future telecom sponsorships

We really couldn't care less about who wins this race or that race on the NASCAR circuit, and yet we've been unable to take our eyes off of the stock car giant's ongoing legal battle with AT&T, which has just entered a new and more contentious phase this week. You'll recall that in an effort to protect Nextel's exclusive 10-year sponsorship, NASCAR officials attempted to prohibit the "new" AT&T from rebranding Jeff Burton's Cingular car -- an attempt that was thwarted in a US District Court last month. Well apparently Brian France and friends aren't too fond of watching Burton race around the track with his shiny new paint job, and have just filed a $100 million countersuit in Atlanta, citing "breach of contract, fraud and misrepresentation, and conspiracy to aid and abet wrongful interference with Nextel." What's more, NASCAR is seeking the right to completely ban any non-Nextel telecommunications sponsors from the sport starting in 2008, which would allow it to give both AT&T and Alltel the boot. Ah, courtroom drama: the true sport of kings.

[Dustin Frazier @ Jun 18th 2007 12:50PM]

AT&T is a much bigger company than Nextel with much more money. It seems smarter to make AT&T your friend.

[Rai @ Jun 18th 2007 1:19PM]

LOL, I think the reason to counter sue isn't for the money, but for the reputation of NASCAR, showing they still have the ability to choose a sponsorship deal that they "like" rather than just money hungry hogs that they appear as...

[Froggy @ Jun 18th 2007 2:06PM]

it's not about the money to NASCAR. Booting ATT is not going to effect NASCAR per se, it will effect any teams that are sponsored by ATT, a la Jeff Burton.

[m3nphls @ Jun 18th 2007 12:52PM]

i lol'd at this

[Kurt @ Jun 18th 2007 1:05PM]

How about you create a sport that doesn't have a corporate sponsorship for the league championship. Personally I have always felt they should have renamed it from Nextel Cup / Winston Cup to the Nascar Championship or something like that. I realize Nextel threw them a bunch of money but keep the integrity of the sport intact.

What is Next Instead of the AFC and NFC are we going to have Taco Bell Conference and the KFC Conference culminating in the Pizza Hut Championship game?

[Starvine @ Jun 18th 2007 1:25PM]

You mean something like the Tostidos Fiesta Bowl?

[Wardell Latham @ Jun 18th 2007 2:07PM]

Does seem like it would add a little integrity to the sport.

[scotjo @ Jun 18th 2007 1:06PM]

It's not just rednecks driving in circles any more. Only a few years back, the cup was named for big tobacco.

[John @ Jun 18th 2007 1:26PM]

It's not. Could have fooled me.


/F1

[ScOObyDoo @ Jun 18th 2007 1:10PM]

Why does Nextel even bother advertising with Nascar? I assumed that every Nextel user was a Nascar fan anyway.

[jake @ Jun 18th 2007 2:22PM]

I am a nextel user and not a nascar fan. not much of a sports fan at all really

[Insomniac @ Jun 18th 2007 1:12PM]

This is all Tony George's fault.

[Pav @ Jun 18th 2007 1:14PM]

lol! Wonder how many around here get this comment.

[INTERNETSAVIOUR @ Jun 18th 2007 1:12PM]

wtf they don't like the paint job? what a bunch of crybaby children. I hope the judge orders them all to commit suicide.

[Major Malfunction @ Jun 18th 2007 3:06PM]

Go back to DIGG.

[Antti @ Jun 18th 2007 1:13PM]

Back in the sweet ole USS of R there where no such this as a corporate and sonsorship. Aaa, wasn't the life much simpler back in the day, comrades?

[TheChaz @ Jun 18th 2007 1:14PM]

This is the first thing that has ever made Nascar interesting to smart people.

[Aaron @ Jun 18th 2007 3:42PM]

Smart person STILL not interested in anything related to NASCAR.

And don't get me started on the idiots still trying to claim this is a "sport." I'd even be willing to concede badminton a sport before I would somebody sitting in a car driving around a circle while other people sit there and watch!

[TheChaz @ Jun 19th 2007 3:21PM]

Agreed. Just because you have to be athletic to do it doesn't make it a sport.

[Paul @ Jun 18th 2007 1:17PM]

Kurt: You realize it was called the Winston Cup, not because of anyone in particular, but because (R.J. Reynolds Tobacco) Winston Cigarettes paid them a bunch of money. Nextel gave them a bunch of money to rename the cup, because tobacco was getting the boot due to public pressure.

Either way ... NASCAR is all about sponsorship dollars. It's a little ironic they would boot out a sponsor in favor of another ... but I guess they're making enough money now, they can protect whatever sponsor they feel like these days.

[Kurt @ Jun 18th 2007 1:59PM]

is that exactly what I said. Nextel Cup / Winston Cup represents the corporate sponsorship. Either name it is annoying that the "sport" can't stand on it's own.

* note - I corrected my error in the first post and made sure to put "sport" in quotes. If this is a sport then the bowling/badmitton/shuffleboard people will start chiming in.

[Clayj @ Jun 18th 2007 1:25PM]

Nextel sucks... and not just for this.

Don't you hate when you have to call someone who's using a Nextel phone (I have to do this all the time) and you get that moronic message "Please wait while the Nextel subscriber you are trying to reach is located"? (Yes, I can quote it from memory. I've heard it THAT many times.) How advanced can their system be if it can't keep a constant connection with every phone? Each time I hear the message, I can't help but think of Lily Tomlin's operator character Ernestine plugging a wire into a socket in order to establish the connection to their phone.

[John @ Jun 18th 2007 5:45PM]

Dude your an idiot. All cell phone carriers search for the user you are calling. The only diffence between Nextel and the other guys is Nextel actually tells you that they're looking. The other carriers just insert fake rings. Don't believe me?? Go make a couple of calls to somebodies cellphone and ask them how many times their phone rang and compare it to how many times it rang on your end. My next paycheck says the numbers dont add up.

[Moff @ Jun 18th 2007 1:51PM]

I hate Nextel just based off that walkie-talkie feature. Next time I am interrupted talking to a friend by someone beeping them with a bs message... I'm going to throw their phone in the toilet.

Not to mention all the idiots that think it's ok to talk like that in a restaurant.

[Anthony @ Jun 18th 2007 2:31PM]

Moff- I hate that annoying "beep!" sound too. For some reason I also hate the way they respond by moving the phone from mouth to ear so they don't go deaf.

[Phreak511 @ Jun 18th 2007 1:56PM]

Scotjo wrote: "It's not just rednecks driving in circles any more. Only a few years back, the cup was named for big tobacco."


In America: Redneck drivers racing around a track driving high-performance cars. Their fans drinking beer and eating barbecue.


Europe (and here in the UK): No-brained soccer players kicking a little leather ball and their drunk hooligan fans beating the crap out of each other and anyone else that gets in their way.


Hmm....I'll take the Rednecks anyday!

Cheers!

[greg @ Jun 18th 2007 2:02PM]

this is so stupid the fact that they want to ban nextel's competition from the sport
nascar does not own the sponsorship the teams that run the cars do so this suit is kinda w/o merit.

in the last few years they loosened restrictions on liquor sponsorship thats why Jack Daniels is a sponsor.
cell phone sponsorship wont send a bad message to children and minors.

does anyone really care about cell phone sponsorship in nascar not really , except for nascar

[Jeff @ Jun 18th 2007 2:21PM]

The interesting thing is the hipocracy on the part of Nascar. I am a Nascar fan and enjoy the sport, but I can't help but point out that for years there were other alcohol sponsors in the Busch series, one step below the Nextel Cup on the stock car circuit. Not to mention there are a lot of other tool vendors in the Craftsman series. I really don't see why this is an issue. Not to mention that 100M is a little excessive, but I guess thats how you get ahead in life these days.

[Sam @ Jun 18th 2007 2:45PM]

Next they will ban all other mobile signals from the stadiums during a race. AT&T and Verizon customers won't be able to make calls. Then they will ban all other wireless signals; not even a Bluetooth headset will work... unless its connected to a Nextel phone.

[Jordan @ Jun 20th 2007 6:23PM]

Pretty much no phones make calls at the races as it is, due to about a billion users on 1 or 2 towers. Even when AT&T or Verizon brings CoWS in it is still screwy.

[Don @ Jun 18th 2007 2:47PM]

Damn, this means that I won't be able to enter my car branded with a tin-can and string system targeted at Nascar fans :(.

[Don @ Jun 18th 2007 2:49PM]

If this goes through, I'll never be able to advertise my new "String and Tin Can" network targeted at Nascar fans :(.

[Don @ Jun 18th 2007 2:50PM]

Sorry - thought that my previous comment was rejected because of "d@mn". I wish you could delete your own comments on engadget.

[apeguero @ Jun 18th 2007 3:09PM]

God I hate Nextel. Their equipment sucks, their service sucks. I can't freaking stand them. NASCAR should have Garmin as their corporate sponsor though: "Turn left 200 yards..."

[Tico @ Jun 18th 2007 3:42PM]

HAHAA. LOL. Classic. Now that is a commercial I would love to see.

[apeguero @ Jun 18th 2007 4:17PM]

Tico, that commercial is already playing for Garmin. It's hillarious I tell you.

[Gary @ Jun 18th 2007 3:17PM]

LOL @ Scrolling down and seeing an AT&T Advert. XD

[daustin627 @ Jun 18th 2007 4:19PM]

That's why I watch Formula 1. It actually takes skill to drive those cars, instead of just running into things,

[Kenny @ Jun 18th 2007 5:18PM]

The reason Nascar is suing is because when they signed the contract with Nextel becoming the primary sponsor, there was a clause disallowing any other wireless providers as a sponsor on a car. Alltel and Cingular where grandfathered in til there contracts where up with the teams they where currently sponsoring finished. Nascar is trying to protect its contract with nextel.

[Matthew Meta @ Jun 18th 2007 5:28PM]

Excellent. Thanks for the clarification.

[Matthew Meta @ Jun 18th 2007 5:22PM]

I don't quite understand... having a Cingular car was acceptable but having an AT&T car isn't? Am I missing something here?

[Major Malfunction @ Jun 23rd 2007 3:11AM]

Yes, you are missing the comment one post above yours [or two if you have it threaded].

Nascar has a contract with Nextel as their primary advertising patron. Cingular is the new ATT, since Cingular is no longer being used, ATT is probably arguing that the Cingular contract is still enforceable through agency and acquisition. Since it was grandfathered in originally, it shouldn't matter if its Cingular or ATT, what they should have done was simply paint over Cingular with a big ATT without removing the Cingular logo. :)

[I haven't RTF history and case actually, but logically, thats what I would do if I was hell bent on getting my face in Nascar and was generally an ass, which I try not to be.]

I would think that this case will end up with ATT still on the car until the terms of the Contract are completed {the original Cingular contract}

[Firebird @ Jun 18th 2007 5:53PM]

We dun want none of that dem there at&t doohickery touchscreeny iphone network-that-works rubbish! If it werent fo nextel, id actually git all dem calls frum mah inlaws dat i dun wanna git, and jus cuz mah inlaws is also mah own parents dun mean i wanna talk to dem any mo! Locate dis customer! Yeehaw!

[ethana2 @ Jun 18th 2007 6:48PM]

I think you mean text
Typing a paragraph like that makes it hard to read. Y0u m16h7 45 w3|| 7yp3 7h3 3n71r3 fr34k1n6 7h1n6 1n |3375(r1p7... be znlor ebg13.
Well, maybe it's not that extreme, but still, please don't do that again.

As for cell carriers, I think there should be mandated standard protocols used by all, and weird long term agreements should be outlawed. Seriously. What if qwest refused to use tcp/ip? Oh, sorry. You're in a two year contract. Came with the Dell you bought. Cox? Ok, now they're gonna sue.

I think lawsuits should be outlawed for corporations and such, directly. You show me the people. Not the ugly face of the riaa. um..

[ethana2 @ Jun 18th 2007 6:52PM]

dang it, engadget! Now I see why you don't use false tags to notate your text.

That was "I think you mean (carrot)accent=whatever(carrot)text(carrot)(slash)accent(carrot)"

At the end was a (carrot)(slash)rant(carrot)

grr...

[boomhauer @ Jun 18th 2007 7:30PM]

buy... more... phones...

[Gus M @ Jun 18th 2007 9:24PM]

If NASCAR doesn't want telecom sponsors, why did they allow Cingular to sponsor anyway?

And how is this issue not covered in the sponsorship contract? Surely there's a provision allowing (or not allowing, as the case may be) a logo change in the event the sponsor changes the name, right?

[Randy Gentry @ Jun 19th 2007 4:34AM]

If I were at&t. When I could get out and not put any money into NASCAR. I'd sure would put it somewhere else.

[drtekger @ Jun 19th 2007 4:37AM]

I just had to fart, please high-rank me!