Crown Royal: Busch's place in Chase wasn't part of equation
Crown Royal would have disassociated itself from Kurt Busch after his run-in with the law even if Busch had been leading the Nextel Cup standings with two races left in the season, a company representative said Tuesday.
"Our position would not have changed," said Dan Sanborn, director of sports marketing for Diageo North America, the parent company of Crown Royal whiskey. "We do not condone that sort of behavior."
Busch, the 2004 Cup champion, was detained by a Maricopa County, Arizona sheriff deputy and charged with reckless driving after a Nov. 11 incident near Phoenix International Raceway.
According to an incident report, Busch was argumentative with the deputy and after being taken to a satellite station at the track a sobriety test put Busch's blood-alcohol content level at .017, well under Arizona's 0.08 threshold for a drunken driving charge.
Roush Racing subsequently suspended Busch for the season's final two races. In a Tuesday session about spirits sponsorships in NASCAR at the Sports Business Journal/Sports Business Daily Motorsports Marketing Forum, Sanborn and other liquor company representatives said Busch's reported behavior would have been sufficient for them to end a relationship with him.
"We would have done exactly the same thing," said John Hayes, brand director for Jack Daniel's. "It would have been two-faced for us to be speaking about being responsible and then turn our cheek to that."
Sanborn, whose company used the slogan "Be a champion - drink responsibly" in its NASCAR promotions, said Diageo did not initiate but completely supported the suspension imposed by Roush Racing, a team that Busch was leaving at season's end.
Sanborn said Diageo could not have demanded that the team pull Busch out of the car but could have - and would have - taken its company markings off any car Busch might have driven if he had still been in contention for the championship.
"The issue was never alcohol, it was about behavior and making the right choices," Sanborn said. "When we hire a celebrity or an athlete to represent our product, we expect them to be an ambassador for us. ...The characteristics (Busch) displayed were not those of a champion."
Crown Royal would have disassociated itself from Kurt Busch after his run-in with the law even if Busch had been leading the Nextel Cup standings with two races left in the season, a company representative said Tuesday.
"Our position would not have changed," said Dan Sanborn, director of sports marketing for Diageo North America, the parent company of Crown Royal whiskey. "We do not condone that sort of behavior."
Busch, the 2004 Cup champion, was detained by a Maricopa County, Arizona sheriff deputy and charged with reckless driving after a Nov. 11 incident near Phoenix International Raceway.
According to an incident report, Busch was argumentative with the deputy and after being taken to a satellite station at the track a sobriety test put Busch's blood-alcohol content level at .017, well under Arizona's 0.08 threshold for a drunken driving charge.
Roush Racing subsequently suspended Busch for the season's final two races. In a Tuesday session about spirits sponsorships in NASCAR at the Sports Business Journal/Sports Business Daily Motorsports Marketing Forum, Sanborn and other liquor company representatives said Busch's reported behavior would have been sufficient for them to end a relationship with him.
"We would have done exactly the same thing," said John Hayes, brand director for Jack Daniel's. "It would have been two-faced for us to be speaking about being responsible and then turn our cheek to that."
Sanborn, whose company used the slogan "Be a champion - drink responsibly" in its NASCAR promotions, said Diageo did not initiate but completely supported the suspension imposed by Roush Racing, a team that Busch was leaving at season's end.
Sanborn said Diageo could not have demanded that the team pull Busch out of the car but could have - and would have - taken its company markings off any car Busch might have driven if he had still been in contention for the championship.
"The issue was never alcohol, it was about behavior and making the right choices," Sanborn said. "When we hire a celebrity or an athlete to represent our product, we expect them to be an ambassador for us. ...The characteristics (Busch) displayed were not those of a champion."
