SONOMA, Calif. -- For a decade now, the black and gold colors of the sponsor's logo have been nearly synonymous with the race team itself. Bill Davis Racing has been defined by that No. 22 car bearing a Caterpillar logo, a vehicle that won two of the biggest races the sport had to offer. Whether it was Victory Lane at Darlington, crossing the finish line in the Daytona 500, or just the transporter trundling down the highway, one glance at those hues and that insignia said it all.

But in NASCAR, where economic Darwinism is its most unforgiving, not even decades-old relationships are immune to the unrelenting pressure to find greener pastures. Which is why the team that since 1999 has been defined by Caterpillar is losing Caterpillar, to a Richard Childress Racing program that's won five times the past two seasons and is on the brink of once again placing all three of its cars in the Chase.

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There are so many companies that are looking at their position in the sport. They look at where they want to be. I know we were one of about three teams they looked at. It was kind of like General Mills, we were fortunate that they came to us.

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RICHARD CHILDRESS

"It's hard to have any hard feelings about someone who's been with you for 10 years," Mike Brown, chief financial officer of the Bill Davis team, said Friday at Infineon Raceway. "Obviously, we were looking for a sponsor when they came in, and they picked it up. We feel like we did a lot for them, and obviously they did a lot for us. You've got to respect what they want to do differently, and go with it. We hoped we'd have another 10 years with them. It just didn't work out."

It's another case of Sprint Cup's top teams benefiting at the expense of their smaller, less successful brethren, similar to what happened earlier this season when General Mills announced it was leaving Petty Enterprises to back a fourth car at RCR for next season. Although Davis' No. 22 car has moved safely inside the top 35 in owner points, thus ensuring driver Dave Blaney a berth in the starting field each week, it's led only eight laps and been unable to crack the top five. The company's new driver for next year, RCR's Jeff Burton, has a victory and four top-five finishes this season, and currently sits second in championship points.

"That deal there is something that even before we knew we got it, they did a lot of due diligence, just like all these companies today," said Childress, who said Caterpillar officials first contacted him about three months ago. "There are so many companies that are looking at their position in the sport. They look at where they want to be. I know we were one of about three teams they looked at. It was kind of like General Mills, we were fortunate that they came to us."

The Davis team believes it can rebound, even though the organization has such close ties with Caterpillar -- officials from the race team and the machine equipment company went out to dinner together Thursday night, as they always do -- and there's no replacement sponsor immediately lined up.

"It's not devastating news," Brown said. "It would be devastating news if we found out in December. Obviously now, we have to take it and make the most of it. We've made great friends and relationships with Caterpillar, and wish them nothing but the best."

Now Childress has all four of his planned Sprint Cup cars sponsored for next season, an enviable position in June. The addition of Caterpillar was necessary, because Burton's current primary sponsor, AT&T Mobile, will have to leave after this season under the terms of an agreement struck between RCR, NASCAR and series title sponsor Sprint, which has rights as the circuit's exclusive wireless carrier. The new sponsor has a natural tie -- Jeff's brother Ward drove the Caterpillar car from 1999-2003, scoring four of his five career race wins in the black and gold. (Continued)