Generation gap

SANTA ANA, Calif. — A little blue bottle is causing a big stir in the Nextel Cup Series.

Powerade officials might never have imagined that just the sight of their high-energy sports drink could have such an adverse effect on some of stock car racing’s biggest stars

Jimmie Johnson would rather pay a $10,000 fine to NASCAR than be photographed with Powerade bottles lurking in the background.

And Jeff Gordon, a four-time Cup series champion, skipped an appearance in victory lane at the Mecca of motor sports — the Indianapolis Motor Speedway — because he didn’t want to have the neon-colored concoction, which is made by Coca-Cola, propped on the roof of his souped-up Chevy.

Coke is a member of NASCAR’s “Official Family of Sponsors,” and once a car rolls in to victory lane, a Nextel Cup official places a couple of bottles of Powerade on the roof of the car so it can be seen when a driver is doing a postrace interview on network TV.

The problem is, Johnson and Gordon are sponsored by Coke’s arch-rival, Pepsi, which makes Gatorade.

The Powerade presence hasn’t been an issue the past few weeks because the winners have all had an association with Coke.

But it could become a problem again Sunday night after the Pop Secret 500 at California Speedway. Johnson and Gordon have had their share of success at the 2-mile oval in Fontana.

Gordon has finished in the top five in five of his eight starts here, including three victories. And Johnson, Gordon’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, won the first race of his Cup career here in 2002. He was the runner-up to Gordon when the series visited Southern California in May.

Gordon and Johnson come into Sunday’s race ranked first and second, respectively, in the Nextel Cup driver standings.

Coca-Cola officials declined to comment on the victory lane antics or how they felt about sharing the spotlight with their biggest competitor Sunday evening after the Pop Secret 500.

This coveted piece of real estate at California Speedway is sponsored by Gatorade. International Speedway Corp., owner of the Fontana facility, has a contract with the soft drink manufacturer. A big sign hangs over victory lane in Fontana declaring it Gatorade country.

Why is NASCAR pitting two rival companies against each other?

Officials say ISC and NASCAR are two different entities. But are they? Bill France is the chairman of ISC, and until he turned control over to his son Brian in October 2003, he ran NASCAR.

“Victory lane is the asset of the promoter. To put a name on it is our right,” said Paul Phipps, chief marketing officer for ISC. “We try to be as sensitive as we can be to the drivers’ feelings. We know their sponsors are paying huge amounts of money. But sometimes overlaps are going to happen.”

Tony Stewart, who has a big Coca-Cola patch sewn on the front of his driving suit, said he doesn’t like the position that “corporate NASCAR has placed the drivers in.”

“We have sponsors that we’re responsible to and we have an obligation to, and I don’t think it’s fair,” Stewart said.

The Powerade battle reached a turning point last month in Pocono, Pa. At first, the drivers sponsored by Pepsi/Gatorade, including Gordon and Johnson, would smack the Powerade bottles to the ground as they climbed out of their cars. But it didn’t take long for NASCAR president Mike Helton to declare the bottles untouchable.

They had to stay on the roof of the car. Or else.

Johnson came up with a creative way to circumvent Helton’s edict. When he climbed out of his Monte Carlo after winning the Pennsylvania 500 on Aug.1, he placed a huge Lowe’s sign – the home improvement warehouse is the primary sponsor of his Chevy – on the roof of his car in front of the bottles.

He was fined $10,000 by NASCAR. Johnson said series officials called his actions “detrimental to stock car racing.” NASCAR officials told Johnson the sanctioning body owns the top of the race car in victory lane.

Yet when the wind blew the sign off the roof of Johnson’s car, a Nextel Cup official put it back in place.

“It is a Hendrick Motorsports car, and we are sponsored by Gatorade and Pepsi and that is their race car. They own the top of it,” Johnson said.

Johnson said there is no way he can avoid being seen with a product produced by a rival sponsor, because the TV networks have the drivers climb out of their cars to begin the coverage of the victory lane ceremony.

“With all this controversy, we’re creating more exposure for this other brand. So I’m not sure what I’m going to do next,” Johnson said. “That ended up being an expensive move on my part, but I was just trying to defend my sponsors in victory lane.

“I am not left with many options as a driver. I just wish I would have seen that official pick up the sign. That would have given me some ammunition when I was talking to NASCAR.”

The following weekend, Gordon elected not to pull into victory lane after winning the Brickyard 400, stopping on the front straight of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway instead, so he and his crew could kiss the row of bricks at the start-finish line.

Gordon said he didn’t do that to avoid having the Powerade bottles on top of his car. He said he got caught up in the moment and wanted to share it with the fans. Winning the Brickyard 400 was one of “the most special moments” in his career, he said. It was his fourth victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

A couple of days later, Gordon issued an apology.

“I can’t adequately describe how emotional that day was,” he said. “It was just a case of being caught up in the moment. I just wanted to jump up and down and hang out with my guys.”

Kyle Petty, who has been driving in NASCAR’s top division for more than two decades, said “once the car comes through the gate and goes through inspection, it is NASCAR’s car, and they have a right to push it wherever they want and do with it what they want.”

“Maybe I am just being naive, but I don’t understand this,” Petty said. “It’s ridiculous for us to even be talking about it.”