NASCAR ROUNDUP \ News and notes

Obama considering sponsorship: NASCAR’s BAM Racing team has presented Barack Obama’s presidential campaign with a potential sponsorship deal in the Sprint Cup series later this year, but that doesn’t necessarily mean an Obama car will be burning rubber on the track sometime soon. BAM team spokesman Rhett Vandiver told The Associated Press Friday the team has made a sponsorship proposal to the Democratic presidential hopeful’s campaign, and has made similar proposals to the campaign of Republican John McCain and at least one third-party candidate. Sports Illustrated first reported the proposal on its Web site, saying Obama’s campaign is in talks with BAM, a part-time operation that hasn’t raced in recent weeks, to sponsor its No. 49 car in the Aug. 3 race at Pocono. Asked about the talks, Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, “We get a lot of good ideas every day, but there are no such agreements in place at this time.”

Is Logano ready? Crew chief Greg Zipadelli doesn’t know who will be behind the wheel of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota next season, but he does know who it won’t be. With Tony Stewart set to leave JGR after 10 years to launch Stewart-Haas Racing for 2009, Zipadelli’s loyalty to the Gibbs organization outweighed his friendship with Stewart. Accordingly, the longest current association between a driver and crew chief will end when Stewart departs at the end of the season, and Zipadelli stays behind. Zipadelli will face the challenge of building a relationship with a new driver. Joey Logano, an 18-year-old self-professed candidate for the No. 20 ride, might be the man behind the wheel, though he has yet to compete in his first Cup race. In four starts in NASCAR’s Nationwide Series, however, Logano has two poles and one victory.

Brother follows brother: Ward Burton won the 2002 Daytona 500 in a Dodge sponsored by Caterpillar. Next year, his brother, Jeff Burton, will carry the Caterpillar colors on his No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

Combined dispatches