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NASCAR Moves from Winston Cup to Nicorette
April 25, 2005

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News Summary

Having dropped R.J. Reynolds as its main sponsor, NASCAR now has its first sponsor dedicated to preventing smoking: GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, maker of Nicorette gum.

The New York Times reported April 24 that Nicorette has become an associate sponsor of the NASCAR No. 41 car driven by Casey Mears and owned by Chip Ganassi.

"I think it's cool that relationship is done with," said Mears, 27 and a nonsmoker. "It's healthier for the fans, and it's healthier for the sport."

"Everyone wants to point to the irony that Nascar rode the backs of tobacco money all these years, and to some extent, I agree with that," Ganassi said. "But what really built the sport was sponsorship in general."

From 1971 to 2003, there was no more important sponsor for NASCAR than R.J. Reynolds, which underwrote the annual Winston Cup series. The tobacco industry has long been associated with racing, and large numbers of racing fans still smoke.

But just as tobacco companies once saw NASCAR audiences as a prime target market for cigarettes, companies like GlaxoSmithKline now see racing fans as potential buyers of smoking-cessation products. Even NASCAR icon Richard Petty is now a spokesperson for Nicorette, and the pharmaceutical company also has named a driver's award after its Commit nicotine lozenge.

"There are a huge number of smokers who want to quit and can't," Ganassi said. "It's not about going after Winston. It's fertile ground for [GlaxoSmithKline] to sell their product."

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