Media seek Earnhardt case data
By wire services
Published May 27, 2005
LEXINGTON, N.C. - Several news organizations asked a judge Thursday to unseal documents in a case that pits the race car owner for Dale Earnhardt against an insurance company that refused to pay up when he died.
Superior Court Judge Kimberly Taylor extended an earlier protective order in the case at the request of the attorney for Richard Childress Racing, who argued that some of the documents, including Earnhardt's contract, were proprietary.
The ruling came after an Associated Press reporter asked Wednesday to review evidence that had been introduced to the jury in open court and was told it was under a protective order. The AP, the Charlotte Observer, NASCAR Scene and the North Carolina Press Association later filed a motion asking the court to reconsider.
RCR, Earnhardt's employer, has accused United of Omaha of cheating widow Teresa Earnhardt out of a $3.7-million payment after Earnhardt died in a crash at the Daytona 500 in 2001. RCR took out the policy.
RCR said the insurer failed to properly investigate before denying payment just days after the driver's death. The company counters that the policy was never valid for Earnhardt because he had not taken a required physical.
HALL OF FAME BID: As the birthplace of stock car racing and home to America's premier race and track, civic leaders believe Daytona Beach would be a natural home for the proposed NASCAR Hall of Fame. Thursday, the city made its bid official in a ceremony on Daytona International Speedway's checkered Victory Lane.
The bid already may have spun out, however.
Also competing for the hall are Atlanta, Charlotte, N.C., Kansas City, Kan., and Richmond, Va. Bids are due Tuesday, and NASCAR will begin visiting prospective sites within 30 days.
With every bid proposing facilities costing around $105-million, financing is key, and that's where Daytona Beach has a problem. Earlier this month, the Legislature refused to pass a measure that would have offered $30-million in tax revenue to help local officials lure the Hall of Fame.
George Mirabal, president of the Daytona Beach/Halifax Area Chamber of Commerce, said state tax revenue isn't necessary for a successful bid. But he refused to divulge any details of private entities stepping forward with money.
If Daytona Beach is to rely on private funding, it can't compete with Atlanta, home to many major corporations with sponsorship ties to NASCAR.
CRAFTSMAN STAYS ON: Sears Holdings Corp. renewed its sponsorship with NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series, keeping the retailer's tool brand as the only name the 10-year-old circuit has had.
The contract will extend the sponsorship another five years through 2010, the company and NASCAR said. The agreement also continues Craftsman's status as the official tools of NASCAR.
The extension means that the sponsorship is paying off for Sears, said William Chipps, a senior editor of Chicago-based IEG Marketing Newsletter. He estimated the value of the agreement at $4-million a year, compared with the $70-million a year Nextel Communications Inc. is paying for the top series.
AMBER ALERT: A system used to notify the public about missing and abducted children will have its name on an Indy Racing League race at Kentucky Speedway.
The Amber Alert Indy 300 at Sparta will be sponsored by the Amber Alert Portal Consortium, a public-private partnership that provides states new technology that expands the alert system to make it more effective.
The sponsorship, for an undisclosed sum, is only for this year's race, which will be televised nationally by ABC on Aug. 14.
On that day, Kentucky will become the seventh state to begin use of the Amber Alert Portal, which enables the quick communication of detailed data - including physical descriptions, photographs and biographical information - by law enforcement agencies. The data can be delivered via cell phones, pagers, e-mail, fax machines or other personal communication devices.
States already using the new technology include Washington, Arizona, Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Missouri.