According to the report, Senna has ruled out IndyCar because his family would not let him race in that series.

RBR announced in June that they would be leaving NASCAR at the end of the Sprint Cup Series schedule. Since then, there have been no announcements or leaks of who might take over the team. Back when it was announced, there was speculation that Jay Frye, the team’s current general manager, could purchase the team with help from investors. Mark Martin and Ray Evernham were also rumored to be potential owner candidates.

Martin, however, appears to be considering racing part time next season, sharing a Cup seat with Danica Patrick at Stewart Haas Racing.

RBR driver Brian Vickers has also been attempting to line up potential buyers, but nothing has materialized at this point.

MWR co-owner Rob Kauffman said:

We want to thank Cal for his strong contribution to getting Michael Waltrip Racing to where it is today. We wish him the very best in his future endeavors. We plan to go forward now with the solid management team that is in place, and bring MWR to the next level.

This announcement follows the news that the team’s director of vehicle design, Mike Coughlan,  left the team to join Williams Formula 1 team. While it appears Wells’s departure was somewhat amicable, Coughlan’s does not seem to be so. MWR filed suit against Coughlan and the Williams F1 team. MWR claims breach of contract against Coughlan and interference of contract against Williams.

MWR is seeking an undisclosed amount in damages for breach of contract from Coughlan and additional damages from Williams for interference of contract. MWR claims that Coughlan’s departure affected MWR’s performance and resulted in lost prize money and potential sponsorship.

Webber was running third behind TRB teammate Sebastian Vettel in the closing laps of the race when he was told over the radio to hold his position. He ignored the call and continued pushing Vettel to the checkered flag.

Afterwards, Webber said that he ignored the order because he wanted to score the best finish possible. He wrote in his column for the Herald Sun:

The last stint was probably my best of the race and I was able to pass Lewis (Hamilton) pretty easily for third place. That gave the team a double podium and extended our lead in the constructors’ championship to 110 points. [Vettel] and I had a good battle late on. The team put in a few calls asking me to maintain the gap, but I kept pushing because you can never give up in F1. If Fernando [Alonso] had retired on the last lap, we would have been fighting for the lead. Obviously the team wanted the points for the world championship – and they got them – but so did I.

The team was worried that Vettel and Webber would crash, if they continued to push each other for position.

Bild called the planto replace Webber with Raikkonen “top secret” and cited a source “at the highest level.”

Raikkonen talked with TRB about a ride last year, and is said to have changed his mind about staying in rallying and NASCAR.

But, according to Autosport.com, TRB owner Dietrich Mateschitz said that there are absolutely no doubts that Webber will stay with the team next year. Mateschitz said:

Mark Webber will re-sign with us. This will happen for sure. He is very popular within the team, he feels very comfortable and it is an excellent relationship. He knows this and we know it. To be honest, Mark has no better choice than the fastest car and we have no better choice for a fast driver.

Mateschitz also said that he was fine with Webber’s actions during the British Grand Prix. He said:

This is no problem for us. Sebastian realized that Fernando Alonso was gone and could not be caught anymore, so he backed down. This let Mark close in. He would be a very bad racer had he not tried to attack and gain a position.

Before joining MWR, Coughlan served as chief engineer for the MacLaren Formula 1 team. The move to Williams will mark his return to F1, and is sure to be controversial.

In the summer of 2007, Coughlan was fired by McLaren after police found 780 pages of Ferrari documents at his home. The team was fined a record $100 million and kicked out of the 2007 constructors’ championship by Federation Internationale de l’Automobile, Formula 1′s sanctioning body. Coughlan also received a two-year ban from the sport.

Williams has been struggling this season, and looks to Coughlan to boost the team. Williams has failed to score a point in the first three Formula 1 races this season. Williams is currently 105 points behind leader Red Bull Racing-Renault. Under the F1 points systems, only the top 10 cars in each race are awarded points.

Team principal Frank Williams said:

[Coughlan] left Formula 1 in 2007 because of conduct which he acknowledges was wrong and which he profoundly regrets. His two-year ban from the sport expired some time ago and Mike is now determined to prove himself again. Williams is delighted to be able to give him the opportunity to do this and we are very pleased to have one of the most talented and competitive engineers in the sport helping us to return to the front of the grid.

Coughlan said:

I am grateful to Williams for giving me this opportunity. My experience in 2007 was life-changing. Now, I am looking forward to returning to a sport which I love and to joining a team I have admired for many years. I will dedicate myself to the team and to ensuring we return to competitiveness, while respecting the ethical standards with which Williams has always been synonymous.

As part of the team’s shuffle, technical director Samuel Michael and chief aerodynamicist Jon Tomlinson both announced resignations that will take effect at the end of the year. At that time, Williams will decide whether or not to promote Coughlan to the role of technical director.

Coughlan will be responsible for developing the FW34, next year’s car. Michael will focus on this year’s car. Because there aren’t many rule changes expect from this year to next, there is a lot of continuity expected between the cars. At the end of the year, the team will evaluate its performance, and will make a decision on the technical director role.

The team hopes to hire a replacement for Tomlinson before the end of the year.

No word on how this affects Coughlan’s status with MWR. The team, however, did confirm that Coughlan is their director of vehicle design.

Raikkonen was quoted in a Finnish paper as saying:

I’m really looking forward to get there to familiarize to the world of NASCAR. I have been following it for a long time. I know, it’s a very tough and open top racing series. I just love the American spirit of racing. It feels just great to get involved with that. Obviously, it will be very challenging and great fun for me.

Raikkonen’s business manager confirmed the news.

Ray Evernham, who worked with the Gilletts when they purchased his Sprint Cup Series team to form Gillett Evernham Motorsports, reacted to the news in an article for Auto123.com. He said:

I really don’t know why Kimi would partner with people who continually fail with sports franchises. I don’t know how they could leave with so many unpaid bills and return to the sport.

Juan Montoya said he would welcome Raikkonen to the sport. He said:

Well, people talk a lot and I’ve heard the story already before, but if he’s definitely coming it would be really good for him and for the sport. He would be very welcome here.

Update: Kyle Busch Motorsports announced that it has signed Raikkonen to drive a KBM Toyota in the Truck Series this season, starting with the N.C. Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 20. Sponsorship details and a schedule of the races Raikkonen will drive have yet to be released.

Team owner Kyle Busch said:

We are honored that Kimi Raikkonen, a former Formula 1 World Drivers’ Champion and proven winner, has chosen to start his career in NASCAR with Kyle Busch Motorsports. Adding one of the most talented drivers in the world is a continuation of building a team of proven winners and champions at KBM. I look forward to assisting in Kimi’s transition to NASCAR as both an owner and teammate.

Raikkonen said:

Kyle is one of the best in NASCAR, and being able to draw on his knowledge will be a valuable asset as I make my transition to a new form of racing. He has put together an experienced team that builds fast race trucks. I look forward to being a part of a team that has proven to be a winner on and off the race track.

Section 1140.34, paragraph (c) of the rule states:

No manufacturer, distributor, or retailer may sponsor or cause to be sponsored any athletic, musical, artistic, or other social or cultural event, or any entry or team in any event.

That means that Baker Curb Racing’s No. 27 Nationwide Series team sponsored by Red Man Moist Snuff, and Kevin Harvick Inc.’s No. 33 Camping World Truck Series team sponsored by Longhorn Moist Snuff will lose their sponsors when the rule goes into effect on June 22nd.

Under the rule, tobacco companies cannot use their “brand-name, logo, symbol, motto, selling message, recognizable pattern of colors, or any other indicia of product identification of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco” in advertising and labeling to which children are exposed. This includes NASCAR sponsorships.

This means that a company cannot simply remove or replace tobacco brand names and logos the way Penske Championship Racing replaced “Marlboro Penske” logos with “Team Penske” logos to comply with the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA)* in 2005. When the logos were changed, the Penske cars kept the Marlboro colors and paint scheme until 2010, when Phillip Morris USA, Marlboro’s parent company, stopped sponsoring the team.  This rule prohibits that because it expressly says that a recognizable pattern of colors cannot be used.

* The MSA is an agreement in which attorneys general from 46 states settled their Medicaid lawsuits against the four largest tobacco companies over tobacco-related health care costs and granted them an exemption from tort liability regarding harm caused by tobacco use in exchange for annual payments from the tobacco companies to the states to compensate them for tobacco related health care costs and a change in tobacco marketing practices.

If the teams did change the logos to something that complied with the rules, they could still find themselves in trouble. Around 2005,  the European Union instituted a ban on tobacco sponsorships, which included Formula 1 races. Marlboro signed an extension with Scuderia Ferrari that runs until 2011 around the same time.

With the ban in place, Marlboro had to remove logos from the car depending on venues and national laws. In 2008, the Marlboro logos were removed from the car completely and replaced with a variety of barcodes. Health officials in Europe, however, called for an investigation into whether or not the barcodes were subliminal advertising. The barcodes were removed this year. So, it is likely that anything that appears on race cars with tobacco sponsorships, even if they were in compliance with all aspects of the rule, would be subjected to increased scrutiny.

But, per Sec. 1140.34 (c) of the rule:

Nothing in this paragraph prevents a manufacturer, distributor, or retailer from sponsoring or causing to be sponsored any athletic, musical, artistic, or other social or cultural event, or team or entry, in the name of the corporation which manufactures the tobacco product, provided that both the corporate name and the corporation were registered and in use in the United States prior to January 1, 1995.

Both Red Man and Longhorn are made by Pinkerton Tobacco, which is located in Owensboro, KY.  Pinkerton was acquired by a Swedish company, Svenska Tobaks AB, in 1985, and eventually ended up under the umbrella of Swedish Match, where it currently resides.

With the acquisition of Pinkerton in 1985, and the fact that the name is still registered with Kentucky, one can assume it has been registered since 1995. Also, Swedish Match, in one form or another, has existed since 1992, and has conducted business in both Kentucky and Virginia, so one can assume they, too, have been registered since 1995.

If that is in fact the case, Red Man and Longhorn could remain as sponsors under the name Pinkerton or Swedish Match, so long as they do not use the Red Man or Longhorn brand names, logos, or pattern of colors, or any logos or pattern of colors that someone under the age of 18 could interpret as a tobacco product on the car.  But this is not likely to happen.

The rule prohibits the sale or distribution of promotional, non-tobacco items, such as hats and t-shirts, with tobacco brands or logos. And it restricts the types of ads that are permissible. Audio ads cannot include music or sound effects, while TV ads cannot contain color and are limited to static black text on a white background. Any audio in a TV ad is limited to words only with no music or sound effects. Similarly, print ads must use black text on a white background, unless they appear in magazines that are targeted at adults or magazines with fewer than two million readers under the age of 18.

When asked whether or not fielding an all-white car with the tobacco brand name in black text would count as compliance under the advertising provision, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) confirmed that it would not, because the tobacco brand name was used. The brand name cannot be used in advertising to which children could be exposed, regardless of whether or not it is in color or black and white. But, what if the corporate name were used instead of the tobacco brand name? Would that be permissible? Yes.

But, would Pinkerton/Swedish Match field a car in their corporate name? Ardy Arani, Managing Director of Championship Group/Atlanta, a sports marketing consultancy, does not think we will find out.

Arani said:

[One] side of the equation concerns how far a tobacco company may be willing to test the ire of the FDA by coming up with clever workarounds. My bet is ‘not too far.’  For example, there was talk back in the original Master Settlement Agreement days of a company spinning off brands as separate corporations to enable them to continue sponsorship in the ‘corporate/brand’ name, but nothing came of it. … At some point, the sponsoring company decides it is not worth the hassle and simply removes the logo.

Without merchandise sales and the ability to promote the brand using the driver and car at venues that could be visited by children, a sponsoring company wouldn’t receive much in return for the money spent. Thus, the restrictions effectively ensure that it isn’t financially feasible for a tobacco company to remain as a sponsor.

Red Man Moist Snuff signed on with BCR for 12 races this season, with the last race being the June 12th Nationwide Series race at Kentucky — the last race before the rule takes effect. And it appears that the team is working on securing a sponsor when Red Man leaves.

Matt Crews, president of BCR, said:

As of today we do not have a sponsor lined up for the No. 27 after the FDA rule goes into effect.  We are talking to several potential partners and are hopeful that something will come along to keep the No. 27 on the track for the remainder of the season.  If we do not find a partner to keep the car on the track full time, we still plan to run the No. 27 on a limited basis.

Longhorn is signed to appear as primary sponsor for KHI’s No. 33 truck until the June 12th race at Michigan. KHI has inked a deal with Karl Chevrolet, the third-largest Chevy dealer in the U.S., for it to appear as primary sponsor on the No. 33 truck for the first Camping World Truck Series race after the ban, which is July 11th at Iowa Speedway.

Kevin Harvick Inc owner Kevin Harvick said that they knew that Longhorn would have to come off of the truck at the end of June. So far, he says, the No. 33 has sponsors for about half of the remaining races. They’re still working on sponsors for the other half.

He said that the truck will run every week, regardless of sponsorship.

RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company, former sponsor of the Cup series and the second largest tobacco company in the U.S., and Lorillard, the third largest tobacco company in the U.S., sued over the rule in Kentucky, arguing that some of the provisions in the rule violated their First Amendment rights.

Federal Judge Joseph McKinley struck down the provision that would restrict advertising to black text without graphics except in adult magazines and retail establishments open only to adults. McKinley in his ruling said that the tobacco companies could use imagery and colors to tell “what the product is and who makes it.” The FDA is currently appealing that ruling.

At this time, it is unclear whether or not the FDA will attempt to enforce the rule on imagery and color in tobacco advertisements while the appeal is still pending.