Daytona Beach, Fla. ? There are stars. And then there are the people NASCAR really cares about.

As always, NASCAR president Mike Helton took the microphone at the pre-race drivers’ meeting at Sunday’s Daytona 500 and gave glowing introductions to all the luminaries on hand — John Travolta, Evander Holyfield, skateboarder Tony Hawk and others.

But when that was over, when all the rules had been discussed and the meeting was about to break up, Helton made one last special intro: to Ned Leary, the man who oversees sports marketing for RJ Reynolds Tobacco.

The tobacco company is considering severing ties with NASCAR after 32 years.

RJR has a contract with NASCAR through 2007, but has said it was exploring getting out of the NASCAR sponsorship business. If it does, NASCAR would have to find a new title sponsor to pump an estimated $30 million to $60 million into its top series.