Possible purchase of Alltel puts sponsor's fate in peril

LONG POND, Pa. -- Another acquisition in wireless communication could have Penske Racing looking for a new sponsor to replace Alltel on the hood of Ryan Newman's Dodge.

Verizon Wireless is in the process of closing a deal to purchase Alltel and hopes to finalize the agreement by year's end.

Ryan Newman

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It's a scenario NASCAR and Richard Childress Racing is familiar with as in Dec. 2006 AT&T bought Cingular, sponsor of the No. 31 RCR machine, placing sponsorship in jeopardy because of the competition with Sprint Nextel, NASCAR's title sponsor.

In hopes of changing Cingular to AT&T, the communication company filed a federal lawsuit against NASCAR; however, in Sept. 2007 it was determined that AT&T could use its trademarks on the No. 31 but only through the 2008 season.

When Nextel took over as title sponsor of the Cup Series in 2004, NASCAR informed teams that existing competing sponsors could stay in the series as long as the brand remained the same.

"This is the case with the Alltel brand -- it can stay on the car indefinitely but if it transitions to Verizon or any competing company then it can no longer run a different sponsor on any car in the NSCS," NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said..

Reports surrounding the purchase did not indicate whether or not Verizon will maintain the Alltel brand or lose it altogether.

Penske Racing's vice president for marketing and communications, Jonathan Gibson, said it is too early to speculate on the fate of Newman's relationship with Alltel.

"Right now we're focused on getting the Alltel Dodge into the Chase and back into Victory Lane. Alltel is a long-term valued partner with Penske Racing, and we look forward to continuing this strong relationship," Gibson said.

Alltel's sponsorship with Penske is contracted through 2008 and has been Newman's primary sponsor since 2000.