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Burton finished fourth with new decals added in the last minute after a pro-AT&T court decision. (LAT Photo) Β» More Photos
NEW LOOK, GOOD NIGHT
Jeff Burton had multiple reasons to celebrate Saturday night in the NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge. Not only did sponsor AT&T win a court injunction (see story below) to allow AT&T logos on Burton's car, but the veteran turned in an excellent fourth-place finish to go with teammate Kevin Harvick's victory. "We were pretty good," Burton said. "We got (as) fast there as those top two or three guys. It's a tough race track. Those tires are really tough, the rubber is just pretty hard. Not conducive to this type of racing, just flat out. Not made for this kind of racing, but (they) will be good for the (Coca-Cola) 600 next weekend."
CHEVROLETS RULE, AGAIN There are four manufacturers competing in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series this year, but you'd never know it, given the dominance of Chevrolet this year. Kevin Harvick's victory in Saturday night's NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge at Lowe's Motor Speedway gives the Bowtie Boys victories in 12 of 13 Nextel Cup races this season, 11 points races and the Budweiser Shootout and all-star non-points races. So dominant were the Chevy teams on Saturday that they took the top six positions in the all-star race and nine of the top 11. Most of the Chevy teams, including the race-winning Richard Childress Racing group, were using the new Chevrolet R07 motors.
REASON TO SMILE Dale Jarrett finished 12th in the NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge, best of the first-year Toyota teams. And that left him smiling and eager for next week's Coca-Cola 600. "This was a learning experience for us and that was exactly what we needed," said Jarrett. "We need to get out there and compete to get some ideas as to how to make the cars better. We've made tremendous gains and tonight it helped a lot to get to run with those other fast cars. Now what we need to do is come here Thursday with a great qualifying package and get into the race. I think if we can do that, then we can run competitive for 600 miles. But the run here tonight definitely gives us hope for next week."
AT&T A-OK The busiest guys in the garage at Lowe's Motor Speedway Saturday may have been the decal crew at Richard Childress Racing, which feverishly stripped off the Cingular logos from Jeff Burton's No. 31 Chevrolet and replaced them AT&T logos following a judge's ruling Saturday upholding a court injunction from a day earlier. The court ruled that AT&T could switch sponsorship from Cingular to AT&T, a move NASCAR had sought to block.
In addition to Burton's race car, the RCR crew had new uniforms with the AT&T globe on them, and Burton's pit wagon, generators and other gear also got the new logos. It was a busy day for the RCR gang, to say the least.
Jarrett led the Toyota gang with the 12th position. (LAT Photo) Β» More Photos
Meanwhile, NASCAR Nextel Cup series sponsor Sprint Nextel has joined the legal battle on NASCAR's side, as it hopes to have the AT&T decision overturned on appeal. "In response to the ruling by the court, we have formally filed to join this proceeding," said the company's director of NASCAR Nextel Cup Series marketing,
COURT REACTION Roush Fenway Racing President Geoff Smith, who oversees the sponsor programs of the team's 13-car NASCAR Nextel Cup, Busch and Craftsman Truck Series fleet, is no fan of sponsor deals that lock out one company out of the NASCAR garage because of exclusivity granted to another.
"These problems all arise because people are working to restrain the free competition that's made America great," Smith said of the NASCAR-Nextel-AT&T squabble. "And the restrictions that all these companies try to impose are really secondary to what they're supposed to be doing, which is to convince America to buy the product or service that you are selling. And you are never going to operate in America in a competitive-free zone. No wonder there are problems all the time. You're really trying to restrict the natural way things work."
According to Smith, his team's sponsors understand that they are competing with rival companies in the sport and actually relish going head to head with each other. "Sponsors don't have any problem with that (competition)," he said. "They know they're carving out the choice for America and making the argument about why their product is best. The niggling little restrictions that go all over the place end up ultimately ruining the reputation of NASCAR as a place where companies are free to market in a free, competitive environment. There are lots of Americans that are willing to make their choice about the product or the service regardless. And by the way, they'll find a way to look at the competitor's choices regardless of whether you've locked him out of the garage or not."
GEARING UP Robert Yates Racing has had a difficult start to the season, but things may be looking up. Long-time team engineer Kevin Buskirk returned to the RYR fold last week after a stint at Richard Childress Racing and will play a key role in getting the team back up to speed. Also in the works is a dedicated RYR test team, which should be especially beneficial in helping the team catch up in Car of Tomorrow races.
EVERYTHING ELSE Lowe's Motor Speedway said next week's Coca-Cola 600 should be the first sellout of that race since 2001. After a tough start to the year, Michael "Fatback" McSwain is officially back atop the pit box of the No. 21 Wood Brothers/JTG Racing Ford Robby Gordon Motorsports has a new crew chief, Gene Nead, who replaces Greg Erwin. NASCAR is lifting the suspensions of former Michael Waltrip Racing crew chief David Hyder and the team's vice president of competition, Bobby Kennedy. The two were suspended in February after doctored fuel was found in Michael Waltrip's Toyota after Daytona 500 qualifying. Part-time NASCAR driver John Andretti qualified 24th for the Indy 500 and as a result will not race in the Coca-Cola 600 on May 27th.
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