Just saw a press release that states CAT is heading to a multiyear deal with the 31 Cup team. This means AT&T must leave the series. SO does AT&T stay in motorsports?? Do they head to the NHRA??? Any thoughts?? I can think of more than a few teams where they'd fit in.

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I liked the Hunt for Red October, but I love Yuliya Gushchina.

You have NO idea how much trouble it was to convince Cingular's CEO that getting into NASCAR was a good idea. As much as I hate to say it, the current CEO of AT&T doesn't seem to have as much interest in generating more interest in the company through racing venues. In all honesty and as much as I hate to say it, I am pretty sure we won't see it until after he retires, if then. It makes this chic really bummed.

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"Many people enter our lives for just a little while, others pause and plant seeds in our hearts that bloom into flowers forever..."

This was a huge problem last year, involving lawsuits and counter-suits between Series Sponsor Sprint/Nextel and AT&T/Cingular, before a settlement was reached that allowed Richard Childress Racing to put AT&T on Jeff Burton's #31 Chevrolet, which had been sponsored by Cingular until the name was changed to AT&T.

Under terms of the lawsuit settlement AT&T was only allowed to sponsor Burton's car through the end of 2008... Caterpillar is ending its 10-year relationship with Bill Davis Racing and will now sponsor Jeff Burton in 2009 and beyond. There are plenty of sports besides motorsports for AT&T to sponsor.

Nothing sinister, strictly sponsorship business. No black helicopters... it's just advertising!

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View From the Left Coast for August '08

The empty seat doesn't buy a hot dog...

I do have to admit that AT&T is involved in Olympic sponsorships & that is pretty cool... But motor sports are not Olympics... And somehow, I just don't feel those bicycles and runners going past the stands the same as cars.

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"Many people enter our lives for just a little while, others pause and plant seeds in our hearts that bloom into flowers forever..."

AT&T already was, they were the main sponser on the team I was on when I joined them in Vegas #2 in 2004. NHRA destroyed the deal

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Re: Sponsor exposure and the Kalitta Boycott

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Welcome to my world Jim. Now maybe you have an appreciation for what guys like me, Scott Palmer, Alan Hartley and many others have been going through for years on end. All of us can't get exposure if we set the national record and win the race. They still interview the others and ask them how they feel about losing. I brought some sponsors to the table over the years and the powers that be not only didn't step up the coverage, they met with them and tried to convince them to spend their money on sponsoring an event as opposed to sponsoring our team. Try that one on for size and see how you like it. The best one was when I took an immense, public company, long term deal to the table and they told the sponsor they should go with a team of their choosing. I could go on for hours but for what? No top team ever came to my defense in this matter and now I am supposed to feel badly that a top team gets a dose of the poison? I don't think so. It may not be right but don't look for sympathy here.

Bill Ancona

That bites. AT&T really works hard to train ethics in business to all of it's employees and even more so to management employees. I can see why they wouldn't look at NHRA again until that attitude changes, that makes it doubly sad.

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"Many people enter our lives for just a little while, others pause and plant seeds in our hearts that bloom into flowers forever..."

Yep... don't expect AT&T to come ove to drag racing.. couple buddies in the RCR team said once they leave they are gone.... it would take an all new managment group to get them to go to any other form of motorsports.....

We laid out a proposal to them last year that would have made it self suportive after the first year...... and it was a no go...lol....

guess you can put them in the same group as several other companies that have a bad taste in their mouths for motorsports marketing....money lost for teams.....shame..

Billy

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