NASCAR Away from track, Burton is at the top of his game

He is busy making personal appearances to promote sponsors' products.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
This certainly isn't Jeff Burton's best season on the NASCAR circuit. But away from the track, he's at the top of his game as a product hawker.
The Winston Cup driver could surpass his record of last year, when he made 102 personal appearances while representing 14 sponsors. He endorses CITGO, Coca-Cola, Ford, Klondike and Kraft, among others.
Burton is part of a business environment that utilizes celebrity athletes to increase brand recognition. It's a responsibility he doesn't take lightly.
"NASCAR is not only about the fans but it's about corporate America, and more specifically our sponsors," Burton said. "That's one of the things that make this sport unique.
"It's the one sport where the sponsor's brand appears on any and everything. If it weren't for our sponsors, I wouldn't be able to do what I love to do."
Nearly 50 appearances
And he's done it quite well, winning 17 Winston Cup races and 20 Busch series events. This year, Burton is winless.
Off the track, however, he's chalked up at least 50 appearances.
Through all this, sponsors receive "value added" impressions via cross-promotions. When Burton shoots a commercial in his racing suit for one sponsor, the logos of others also get air time.
The color scheme of the car Derrike Cope will drive in the New Hampshire 300 might look as if it was the work of a child using crayons.
If so, that won't be an accident.
A coloring contest unlike any other in NASCAR history began Monday, and will continue through Aug. 8.
Children can obtain a special coloring contest entry form at Friendly's restaurants, and put their best effort into something other than masterpieces for refrigerator doors.
"I've heard of design-a-car contests before, but this one is different," said Cope, eager to see what his car will look like for the race in September. "There isn't a kid on earth who can't color well."
The one who does the best job can show off the finished product to his classmates. Cope and his team plan to bring the No. 37 Friendly's Chevrolet to the winner's school.
Where's the orange
Those tuning in to the Pepsi 400 on July 5 at Daytona shouldn't try to adjust the color on their TV screens when they see Tony Stewart's car.
The familiar orange livery on the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet will be just a memory for one weekend. The Winston Cup champion will be trading paint in red, white and blue.
The paint scheme coincides with the stopover in Daytona Beach of the Declaration of Independence Road Trip exhibit. Copies of the nation's most prized document will be on display in the Corporate Village at Daytona.
"To be able to get so close to that kind of history is a treat that very few people in this world will ever get to enjoy," Stewart said. "I'm proud to be racing a car that's symbolic of our country's independence -- especially with all that's going on in our world today."