Even when racing's most-watched series is called the NASCAR Nextel Cup, it will take years for the secondhand smoke of previous sponsor Winston to dissipate.

NASCAR and Nextel announced their 10-year, $700-million partnership Thursday and perhaps the most painful part of the deal -- which will cost the telecommunications company $400 million in rights fees and $300 million in promoting the series -- is that a short film clip won't quickly bury their predecessor in the minds of NASCAR fans.

The one-minute flick honoring RJR's 33-year title sponsorship, which will end after this season, was played at the news conference in New York City's Times Square. And while NASCAR and Nextel executives focused on the details and excitement of the new partnership, the transition probably won't be as easy as Dale Earnhardt Jr. thinks it will be.

"I think (the fans will) accept the new title sponsor rather well," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I can't see anybody not getting excited about such a great opportunity, such a huge step forward for the sport."

Convincing fans that the company isn't just trying to tap into the fan base, but that there is a genuine association between Nextel and NASCAR, could be a tough task at first. Before Nextel agreed to become the sport's biggest sponsor, the company never had any presence in NASCAR.

"When you bring someone new into a relationship, it takes a while before that new partner is fully embraced," said David Carter, principal of The Sports Business Group, a sports consulting firm. "Money has to be spent to dig Winston out before Nextel can start digging in."

NASCAR fans, more than fans of any other sport, accept sponsorship as part of the game. It's been rammed down their throats so much they've gotten used to it. But there's a difference between acceptance of the Nextel brand and the embracing of the company's involvement with stock car racing.

"It will clearly be an obstacle," said Kelly O'Keefe of Emergence Brand Labs, a brand strategy consulting firm. "Nextel can't go into this sponsorship being naïve. If they play it right, it will take two to three years before they begin to have the opportunity to benefit from this, but they can't just plaster 'Nextel' all over and wait to see what happens."

NASCAR officials say there is a connection between Nextel and NASCAR.

"When you think about our sport, communication is very important," said Brett Yormark, NASCAR's vice president of corporate marketing. "Our new sponsor has the opportunity to capture that, communicate it and deliver it to our 75 million fans. So there's definitely a cultural fit here."

Nextel has a greater opportunity than Winston did to exploit the sponsorship. Due to advertising restrictions on the tobacco industry, the R.J. Reynolds' brand was severely limited in getting its value out of the deal.

"We intend to get in there right from the get-go and put a lot of marketing dollars and effort behind it," said Nextel's president and CEO Tim Donahue.

Nextel is expected to unveil phones and accessories featuring the marks of NASCAR drivers and is also expected to eventually work with the organization to make their technology available to the drivers and teams much in the way Motorola's NFL sponsorship has translated to the use of the company's headsets for in-game communication.

"We are committed to giving Nextel all of the resources that he have, including potentially adding a Nextel team within our offices, to make this work in the best way possible," Yormark said. "Our goal is that after this 10-year deal is up, it won't even been an issue for them to consider renewing with us."

Donahue said his company is "revved up to write a new chapter in NASCAR history." They've bought the rights to do that. The real money question is -- how many fans will buy phones and BlackBerrys because of it?

Darren Rovell, who covers sports business for ESPN.com, can be reached at darren.rovell@espn3.com.