KFC could lick competition for Busch title sponsorship

KFC has emerged as one of the leading candidates to take over title sponsorship of the NASCAR Busch Series, sources say. Subway remains a factor as well, putting two quick-service restaurants in the mix despite a crowded category.

Checkers/Rally's, Domino's Pizza, Burger King, Arby's and McDonald's are among the team sponsors and NASCAR partners currently in the sport.

Several other companies have moved in and out of negotiations with NASCAR and ESPN sales officials, who are working in tandem to sell the title. The deal is expected to cost the new title sponsor an average of about $30 million a year, about three times what Busch has been spending.

Anheuser-Busch said in December that it would end its sponsorship after a 25-year run.

Yet another dark-horse candidate, Dish Network, could still emerge, sources say, but NASCAR's existing relationship with DirecTV would seem to make that a long shot. DirecTV, which broadcasts HotPass, is NASCAR's official satellite TV partner.

NASCAR's top marketing brass will not comment on specific candidates.

Spokesman Andrew Giangola said some conversations are further along than others because of the logistical challenge of getting corporate executives in the same room.

NASCAR is not following a timetable, other than the pursuit of a partner before the end of the 2007 season, Giangola said.

Sources also say that NASCAR is pitching at-track rights to prospective sponsors, something that wasn't part of Busch's package. Busch, for example, has not enjoyed certain promotional rights at tracks where a competitor had official beer status. That might change if NASCAR can work through conflicts.

KFC is one of five restaurants owned by Yum! Brands of Louisville, Ky.

It's uncertain if any of the other brands -- Taco Bell, Long John Silver's, A&W All-American Food and Pizza Hut -- might be included in the sponsorship.

KFC's relationship with NASCAR goes back 20-plus years when it was a sponsor for Junior Johnson's teams. The restaurant chain has been in and out of the sport since the 1980s, picking up part-time Nextel Cup and Busch sponsorships along the way.

Most recently, in 2004, KFC sponsored Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Busch car as part of a deal that included Taco Bell and Long John Silver's. During that sponsorship, Earnhardt became the first person other than Colonel Sanders to have his image on a KFC bucket of chicken. KFC sold more than 9 million buckets during that promotion.

Yum! Brands also has a presenting sponsorship in another form of racing -- the Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands -- a five-year deal that began last year and brought Yum's name to the fore for the first time. It marked the first presenting sponsorship ever sold for the iconic horse race.

Subway has been involved with NASCAR through Nextel Cup race titles at Phoenix and Martinsville, Va., and, going back to 2002, titled the spring race at Rockingham, N.C.

Michael Smith of SportsBusiness Journal contributed to this report.