All-star event in 2004 sponsored by Nextel

Site of all-star race still up in the air

NEW YORK -- Nextel's announcement of its sponsorship of NASCAR's top series means The Winston will end.

	Mike Helton

But it's not the end of the all-star race.

Nextel will pick up sponsorship of the popular event, which has been held at Lowe's Motor Speedway for 18 of its 19 seasons. The 2004 name is a work in progress, as is the location, NASCAR president Mike Helton said.

"We will keep the all-star race," Helton said. "Right now, it would be the NASCAR All-Star by Nextel."

Mark Schweitzer, senior vice president of marketing for Nextel, said it will be a co-titled name but nothing has been set in stone.

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"The NASCAR name will certainly be part of it, and the Nextel name will be a part of it," Schweitzer said. "We need to work through that."

The format, which R.J. Reynolds helped develop over the years, is "entirely up to NASCAR," Schweitzer said.

The site of the race will be determined by NASCAR, too.

"That isn't for us to say at all," Schweitzer said. "We'll follow NASCAR's lead. I would emphasize that while we're excited about expanding the geographic reach, if there are no changes, the sport has tremendous assets."

	Humpy Wheeler

Helton said NASCAR is still working on a location for the all-star race as part of its 2004 schedule. He wouldn't speculate on whether it would move from Lowe's.

"I don't speculate on it until we get through," Helton said. "Hopefully, we'll be out with the '04 schedule in a couple of months."

Lowe's Motor Speedway president and general manager H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler released a statement Friday afternoon saying he hoped the race would stay in the Charlotte, N.C. area.

"In regard to changing The Winston to the NASCAR All-Star Race presented by Nextel, I believe that history suggests there's no place but Lowe's Motor Speedway that can do that event justice," Wheeler said. "We look forward to working with NASCAR and Nextel to keep the all-star event here for 2004 and beyond."