Richard Childress Racing introduced the AT&T sponsor colors and logos on Jeff Burton's Chevrolet for the May Nextel All-Star Challenge at Charlotte.

His appearance in that race generated more than $802,000 worth of exposure for AT&T, according to a new report from the folks at Joyce Julius & Associates, a company that tracks sponsor mentions.

Burton finished fourth in the All-Star Challenge and his car was on screen for 9 minutes and 42 seconds of Speed Channel's coverage of the race, according to the report.

The $802,000 in exposure goes a long way toward explaining why AT&T and NASCAR are at legal loggerheads over the company's involvement in stock car racing.

A better performance by Burton on the track would, in turn, create more exposure for AT&T in a sport that has as a title sponsor Nextel, an AT&T competitor. And, if the race had aired on a broadcast network - where advertising dollars cost more - Burton's time on the screen would have been worth more...