BloggingStocks

Dale Earnhardt Jr. officially drops Budweiser

Posted Jul 16th 2007 2:24PM by Beth Gaston Moon
Filed under: Deals, Products and services, Marketing and advertising, Sony Corp ADR (SNE), Anheuser-Busch Cos (BUD), Business of sports

Three weeks ago, Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced that his move to the Hendrick Motorsports team would come with a new endorsement from Sony (NYSE: SNE). At the time of this revelation, the popular NASCAR driver was notably mum on his standing contract with Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD), whose Budweiser brand has adorned the hood of Earnhardt's car since 1999.

This weekend, Hendrick team owner Rick Hendrick shed some light on matter, saying in a statement to reporters: "We have agreements in place with sponsors for the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, which prevent us from having a relationship with Budweiser ... " While there is a deal in place with Sony, Earnhardt's primary sponsorship has not been announced, nor is there a timetable for doing so.

Meanwhile, Anheuser-Busch is looking beyond its former partner to its next endorsement. Wishing Earnhardt the "very best," an Anheuser-Busch executive told reporters that "Budweiser will remain an active sponsor of NASCAR, and we look forward to building upon the legacy of the iconic Budweiser red car in 2008 and beyond."

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

Tags: BUD, Dale Earnhardt Jr., DaleEarnhardtJr., Hendrick Motorsports, HendrickMotorsports, NASCAR, SNE

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

All contents copyright © 2003-2008, Weblogs, Inc. All rights reserved

BloggingStocks is a member of the Weblogs, Inc. Network. Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, Notify AOL