Jeff Burton said:

I’m excited to have a company like General Mills and a brand like Wheaties join our #31 team. Wheaties is one of the most iconic brands in American history, and my kids use so many General Mills products that I’m sure we have a decent market share of the company in our pantry. I also like that they have worked hard to provide so many healthy choices.

Additionally, Caterpillar will still appear as primary sponsor on the No. 31 next season. The relationship between Cat and RCR will operate similarly to the last few years, with Cat sharing sponsorship time with Wheaties similarly to how they shared races with Prilosec and Lenox.

Team owner Richard Childress said:

Cat Racing has proven to be successful both on the track, with Jeff and his team’s achievements, and off the track, with the creative programs provided to its customers. We look forward to building on the success of the partnership between Caterpillar, Jeff Burton and RCR for years to come.

Burton said:

I’m excited to continue my relationship with both Richard Childress and Caterpillar. Over the past few years, I’ve had the opportunity to meet and work with a lot of great people at Caterpillar and I look forward to providing their employees, dealers and customers continued success both on and off the track. Continuing my career at RCR was a top priority for me and it’s great to have the support of Caterpillar behind us.

Bill Finerty, of Caterpillar, said:

We are very pleased to continue our relationship with Richard Childress Racing and Jeff Burton. Cat dealers, customers and employees all take pride in watching the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet compete at a high level in the Cup Series.

Burton began driving for RCR in 2004, in the No. 30 American Online Chevy. He took over the No. 31 the following season, with sponsorship from AT&T Mobility.

In 2009, Caterpillar came on board, after AT&T exited the sport due to NASCAR’s exclusive deal with Sprint Nextel. Under that deal, teams could not feature sponsorship from Sprint’s competitors ( wireless carriers).

Cingular, RCR’s original sponsor, was purchased by AT&T. AT&T sought to put its logos on the car, as it re-named the Cingular brand to AT&T. This was, NASCAR and Sprint argued, against the rules because the grandfather clause in the contract between Sprint and NASCAR that allowed Cingular to remain on the car did not cover a name and logo switch.

After a court battle, AT&T and NASCAR reached an agreement that put AT&T logos on the car, but mandated that the sponsor leave the sport before 2009 season.

Caterpillar is expected to renew, although to a lesser extent than it is currently involved, sources say.

Burton said:

My intention and RCR’s intention is to be back after this year for sure. That’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that we’re going to get all that done. I feel good about my future at RCR, look at it as the place where I want to spend the rest of my career. I’m real comfortable there. I really like Richard. It’s difficult because our job is difficult. But you’ll see me at RCR next year.

Sprint Nextel, the NASCAR Sprint Cup series sponsor, announced that it will be cutting about 15% of its workforce, or 8,000 employees. This move is expected to save the company $1.2 billion annually. Sprint has been losing customers to larger rivals AT&T and Verizon.

GM announced that it is eliminating about 2,000 jobs, as well as decreasing production at plants in the U.S. and Canada. Most of the cuts will affect plants in Michigan and Ohio.

Following a 32 percent drop in profits, Caterpillar, sponsor of Richard childress Racing’s No. 31 Chevy, driven by Jeff Burton, announced that it is cutting 20,000 jobs, or about 18% of its workforce. That includes 12,000 employees and 8,000 contractors. Caterpillar is also cutting production schedules and costs in light of the economic turmoil.

Home Depot, sponsor of Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 Toyota, and driver Joey Logano, announced that it will be cutting 7,000 jobs, or two percent of its workforce. It will also close nearly 50 stores.