AT&T planned to file suit against NASCAR today in U.S. District Court in Atlanta in an effort to place its logo on the No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Nextel Cup car driven by Jeff Burton, AT&T spokesman Clay Owen said this afternoon.

A press release later in the day confirmed the suit had been filed and that the company wanted its logos to appear on the rear quarter panel of the team's car.

Cingular and AT&T merged earlier this year and the Cingular name currently is being phased out, but NASCAR will not allow the newly merged company to put the AT&T logos on the car because of NASCAR's contract with Nextel to sponsor its premier series.

Cingular was grandfathered in as an existing sponsor when the NASCAR-Nextel contract was negotiated in 2003. The 10-year deal began in 2004, but NASCAR has said that it does not allow grandfathered sponsors to change their name.