NASCAR in clashes with AT&T, Motorola

Over the weekend AT&T, sued NASCAR because racing group wouldn't let the telecommunications vendor change the logo on Jeff Burton's race car.

The issue centered around Burton's No. 31 car, which his sponsored by cell phone service provider Cingular. AT&T recently took ownership of Cingular as part of its recent merger with BellSouth and is eliminating the brand name.

Much boo-hooing was heard from AT&T who said NASCAR's refusal to allow it inhibits the company's ability to "attract new customers and retain existing ones."

If Burton was bothered by the dust-up he didn't show it as he won the Nicorette 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday. In the meantime NASCAR almost found itself in court again over the weekend because of another issue with another tech company.

On Friday, NASCAR ordered Robby Gordon's No. 7 Ford to remove Motorola logos from the quarterpanels and hood. NASCAR said because of the non-compete clause in its contract with telecommunications giant Sprint Nextel, which sponsors the NASCAR series, he would have to change the markings.

A compromise was reached to avoid the courtroom. NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter told the Alanta Journal Constitution "Due to the limited time frame, we worked with Robby and his team to come up with a non-wireless solution. " Funny.