With Sprint and Nextel Communications seriously discussing a merger this week, and a “tentative agreement” is reportedly on board, could there be possible implications with regard to Nextel’s exclusive sponsorship of NASCAR’s top level of championship racing? The 2004 season has been widely regarded as a huge success with its vaunted playoff format, the “Chase for the Cup,” along with Nextel taking on the naming behind the Championship itself - the rights of which had been held by Winston from 1971 through the 2003 season. Both the “mouthful” aspect of the branding and the recent changes could potentially be an issue, IMHO.
So the question becomes whether or not the “Sprint-Nextel Cup” would be something that NASCAR would go for. One would think there are varied contractual terms related to mergers involved in the sponsorship that Nextel currently has with the racing league, but would they ever have agreed to sign on if a merger would invalidate their contract?
Representatives from Nextel and NASCAR were not immediately available for comment.
