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CUP: Options Galore For Evernham, Drivers
Written by: Tom Jensen   
07/14/2007
Joliet, Ill.
 
Ray Evernham’s partnership agreement with Canadian investor George Gillett, Jr., is expected to close next week. (Photo by Darrell Ingham/Getty Images) View More NASCAR Photos HERE » More Photos


Team owner Ray Evernham's partnership agreement with Canadian investor George Gillett, Jr., is expected to close next week, said a source familiar with the deal. And a whole host of sponsor possibilities are in play on the Evernham Motorsports NASCAR Nextel Cup cars of Kasey Kahne and Elliott Sadler, according to multiple sources.

Evernham would neither confirm nor deny the merger timetable Sunday morning at Chicagoland Speedway, saying only, "We're working towards closing the deal."

The sponsor situation has a number of scenarios, sources tell SPEEDTV.com.

With the sale of Chrysler Group to investment-banking firm Cerberus Capital Partners pending – Cerberus being the three-headed dog who guards the gates of hell in Greek mythology – it would make sense that Evernham Motorsports would seek additional sponsorship for its Nextel Cup operations.

Cerberus, an investor known for sharp cost-cutting of the companies it acquires, may be willing to relinquish sponsorship rights to the two Evernham cars next season, something Dodge was unwilling to do last year when a major sponsor approached Evernham about becoming Kahne's primary sponsor, a deal that ultimately was rejected by the automaker.

Evernham said Sunday he has a contract with Dodge through 2010 and confirmed he is one of a half-dozen teams who have talked with Budweiser about taking over the brewing company's sponsorship deal in 2008, now that Hendrick Motorsports and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. are out of the running.

There are other options for Kahne beyond Budweiser. Fast-food giant McDonald's, who already has a minor associate position on the No. 9 of Kahne, could step up to become primary of Kahne's car, as the company is looking towards re-establishing its presence in NASCAR, sources said Sunday.

Another sponsor said to be looking closely at Kahne's car is Coca-Cola, which in May agreed
to buy Vitamin Water maker Glaceau for $4.1 billion in cash. Kahne is a national pitchman for Vitamin Water and an integral part of its marketing campaign.

That opens up the possibility for the No. 9 to be sponsored by either Coca-Cola, Vitamin Water or some combination of Coke family beverages – a scenario that would give the soft-drink maker traction, especially if Earnhardt's Hendrick Motorsports car ends up being sponsored by a Pepsi product as expected.

Kahne said he's OK with however the sponsorship situation shakes out. "Myself, I'm with Ray Evernham for 2008 and whatever he decides to do that's a good deal. I'm behind him," Kahne said Friday. As far as sponsorship, he added, "I can do whatever anybody wants to put a good deal together and right now we're doing an awesome job with Dodge and the Dodge dealers. … I could stay red with Bud, I could be M&Ms, I could be anything anybody wants me to be. It's just a matter of if they really want us and if we can do it."

As far as Sadler's No. 19 car, the leading candidate is candymaker M&M's, which currently sponsors David Gilliland and the No. 38 Robert Yates Racing Ford, a car Sadler used to drive. Sadler was exceptionally popular with M&M's when he drove for Yates and sources said the company would love to work with the affable Virginia native again.

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