AT&T lawsuit could take power from NASCAR (cont'd)

If that's the case, Nextel could opt out at the end of 2008, which would be detrimental to the sport, according to Poston.

"Nextel spends a huge amount of money to support the Series including the points fund, the marketing, and all the advertising," Poston said. "If that goes away, it will have a direct negative effect on the drivers, teams and tracks in the Series."

On the other hand, if NASCAR's defense is successful, not only does Childress potentially lose a primary sponsor that has claimed to have spent more $100 million since 2001, but other teams could suddenly find themselves as targets.

Sponsors that currently exist somewhat peacefully under the status quo may decide to follow suit, literally. If entitlement sponsors have broad exclusivity, it stands to reason that official sponsors could conceivably force their competition out of the industry.

"Today's environment is incredibly flexible, it's a sponsor nirvana," Poston said. "That's why we're able to have so many competing sponsors be successful in this sport. We work with the teams to make sponsorships work. The reason Cingular and Alltel are in this sport is because we went to bat for them.

"Today we have over 100 of the Fortune 500 companies successfully participating in the sport. We think that's an incredibly positive feat for everybody."

And NASCAR's ability to police disputes would be severely limited, Poston believes.

"Our hands then are potentially tied," he said. "Everything could be more black and white. The driver-owner agreement could change and there could be less competition.

"And you might get to the situation like you have in the NFL, where if you wear the wrong baseball hat during the Super Bowl, you get fined a $100,000. That's not a good environment for our drivers and our teams."

For now, the Childress camp remains quiet, saying "at this time, the lawsuit is in the hands of NASCAR and AT&T."

Poston said it was never NASCAR's intent to get involved in a contentious conflict between two corporations battling over market share. However, with so much at stake, NASCAR must defend its ability to govern as a sanctioning body.

"There are very few places where we have to draw the line, but this is one of them," he said.

"We're also responsible for creating an environment where everybody wins. Brian France says in order for this sport to grow, drivers, teams and tracks have to win. Right now, everybody's winning."