Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Bubetta Hawkins couldn't say the words 'Nextel Cup Series 'without contorting her face.

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 22:54:20 -0400

Friday, June 20, 2003
People in Wilkes see Nextel shift as another loss

By Jim Sparks
JOURNAL REPORTER
NORTH WILKESBORO

Sherry Hawkins couldn't say the words 'Nextel Cup Series 'without contorting her
face.

'It just doesn't sound right,' Hawkins, a waitress at Roger's Park Place Cafe (aka
"Mel's Dinner") in North Wilkesboro, said about the telecommunications company
that is taking over sponsorship of NASCAR's Winston Cup racing series.

'It just doesn't have that local connection,' Hawkins said. 'We're losing so much
here in the region - jobs and companies - it's a shame that we're losing this,
too. It's just a tough blow.'

NASCAR officials announced yesterday that Nextel, a $17 billion telecommunications
company based in Reston, Va., is replacing R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. as the
sport's primary sponsor. Reynolds has sponsored NASCAR's annual championship,
which is named for Winston-brand cigarettes, since 1971.

Stock-car racing has a long connection with Wilkes County, where during the 1930s
and '40s local young men hauling illegal liquor acquired driving skills that they
used to help develop the now multibillion-dollar sport.

Racing is regular fodder for conversation at almost every popular eating
establishment. And Roger's, where the walls are adorned with pictures of stock
cars, custom cars and motorcycles that look fast standing still, is no exception.

Yesterday morning, comments about the sponsorship shift were flying as fast as
calls for more coffee. Although several older folks lamented the loss of another
state tie to the sport they love, no one seemed surprised by the move, which comes
on the heels of recently announced plans by NASCAR to ship a race from the
Rockingham Motor Speedway to the West Coast.
The finger-pointing that did take place was aimed at NASCAR's thirst for a
national market - which seven years ago cost the North Wilkesboro Speedway its two
annual races - rather than toward either sponsoring company.

'It's all about the money,' said Roger Baldwin the cafe's owner. 'I can understand
with smoking on the decline that Reynolds just can't afford it anymore. Nextel has
got the money, so I don't blame them. But NASCAR should be thankful for the
'Winston' support. It helped keep the sport alive at a time when it could have
died.'

Vernon, McBride, 72, a Winston-Salem native now living in Millers Creek, raced
from time to time at Bowman Gray Stadium during the 1950s.

As he paid his bill yesterday, McBride said that the announcement by the sport's
powers had made him feel as helpless as the news that the North Wilkesboro
Speedway was shutting down.

'It's one of those things that's been pushed down on us, just like when they took
our races,' McBride said. 'What can we do about it? Nothing. It's just a shame.
It's always been local, and now it's not.'

Larry Reavis of Hays said, however, that the change would probably be good.

'I think it's a smart move for both companies,' said Reavis, a telephone-repair
technician, during his coffee break at the cafe. 'The Winston Cup name has been
around so long that I don't think Reynolds is reaching anybody new. They've gotten
all they can out of it, but Nextel, this is going to give them a big boost in
advertising.'

People elsewhere in the county were also talking about the NASCAR announcement.
Matthew Ford, who was working as a clerk at Porter's Grocery in Roaring River, has
been hooked on stock-car racing for four years.

He said that if the sponsorship change and shift of a couple races to larger,
untapped markets help attract fans and strengthen the sport, then NASCAR made the
right move.

'If they can make the racing better, then I'm all for it,' said Ford, 19, a
student in the college-transfer program at Wilkes Community College. 'I'll watch,
no matter what.'
? Jim Sparks can be reached in Wilkesboro at (336) 667-5691 or at
[email-masked]

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