WELCOME, N.C. -- Brown-Forman, one of the largest American-owned companies in the wine and spirits business, will conclude its Jack Daniel's NASCAR program and will not extend its sponsorship with Richard Childress Racing's No. 07 team.

A change in Brown-Forman's spending priorities led to the decision to conclude the sponsorship that began in 2005. The Brown-Forman/Jack Daniel's partnership with RCR will continue for the remainder of the 2009 racing season and the entire team is committed to being competitive on the track each and every race.

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We understand the shift in their spending priorities during these tough economic times and the No. 07 Jack Daniel's Racing program will continue to provide that successful platform for the rest of the 2009 season.

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-- RICHARD CHILDRESS

"Jack Daniel's has enjoyed a good five-year run with Richard Childress Racing and NASCAR, and we are pleased with the overall performance of our sponsorship program," said Tim Rutledge, vice president and brand director for Jack Daniel's. "We have enjoyed building strong relationships with the people in Richard's organization and throughout NASCAR. While it is difficult for us to end our formal relationship with RCR, the current economic environment has compelled us to revaluate our spending and we've concluded that other areas in the marketing mix require additional investment.

"We want to thank the many friends and fans of the Jack Daniel's 07 Racing Team, and we can't say enough about your incredible support the last five years. And, as we have since 1866, we will continue to find ways to thank you and keep your loyalty of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey."

Brown-Forman, Jack Daniel's, and RCR are particularly pleased to have taken a leadership role in communicating a responsible drinking message throughout its NASCAR sponsorship through its core message of Pace Yourself, Drink Responsibly, featured in all NASCAR promotional materials, including on the race car itself.

"Brown-Forman has been a great partner of RCR for the past five years through its Jack Daniel's brand," said Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. "They quickly became a NASCAR-industry leader in the promotion of the Jack Daniel's brand through the Pace Yourself, Drink Responsibly messaging, which our fans have embraced. We understand the shift in their spending priorities during these tough economic times and the No. 07 Jack Daniel's Racing program will continue to provide that successful platform for the rest of the 2009 season. We have built many valuable relationships with the loyal Brown-Forman employees and their distributors during our partnership and look forward to maintaining those relationships in the future."

The No. 07 Jack Daniel's Racing program began in 2005. Drivers Dave Blaney (2005),Clint Bowyer (2006-08) and Casey Mears (2009) have a combined 171 races with two pole positions, two victories, 16 top-five and 50 top-10 finishes. Bowyer earned spots in the Chase in 2007 and 2008 and finished those seasons in third and fifth place, respectively.

"Being flexible with our strategic investments has been a consistent theme for us at Brown-Forman and I support the decision to move from sponsoring NASCAR to investments in other areas." said Paul Varga, chief executive officer of Brown-Forman. "Richard Childress has been a great partner and this decision simply reflects a change in our investment mix, and not any dissatisfaction with RCR or NASCAR."

CHARLOTTE -- Throughout the offseason, the Panthers spoke of putting last January's playoff loss behind them -- of using it as motivating fuel in their quest to succeed this year where they failed last winter. But in the regular-season opener Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles. they endured a frustrating flashback.

Just like January, the Panthers marched downfield to a game-opening touchdown. And then ...

"The rest of it was not good," said wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad.

Just like January, that early 7-0 edge was washed away in a flood of turnovers that put them in to a spiral from which they couldn't recover. The final margin was 38-10, and while it didn't have the crushing finality of the defeat in January, it nevertheless left the Panthers with plenty of pieces to pick up and little time to gather them with the Atlanta Falcons looming in seven days.

"I'd like to think we can't go any further down. It was pretty bad today," said fullback Brad Hoover. "We're frustrated with it. Our fans should be frustrated with it."

The pieces start with the quarterback position, where all three passers played -- something that is rarely a good sign. Starter Jake Delhomme, under duress from the Eagles' pass rush for much of the day, threw four interceptions and fumbled once, which Victor Abiamiri recovered for the touchdown that put the Eagles in front to stay. After his final interception, Delhomme was pulled for Josh McCown, who encountered the same fierce pass rush and ultimately succumbed to it, suffering a sprained left knee and foot after being sacked by Darren Howard.

Matt Moore, the emergency No. 3 quarterback, subsequently entered; he threw an interception one series later. A Mike Goodson fumble with 6:57 remaining gave the Panthers seven giveaways for the game -- the most for the club since their first home regular-season game, against St. Louis at Clemson's Memorial Stadium on Sept. 17, 1995.

"Those guys get paid, as well. But we can't give them the ball," said running back DeAngelo Williams.

Carolina's next -- and final -- possession didn't see a turnover but did end in equally numbing fashion, when Williams was buried under a pair of Philadelphia defenders for a one-yard loss on fourth-and-goal from the two-yard-line.

"Offensively, we just (stunk), to be honest," said wide receiver Steve Smith.

Goodson's fumble was the only Panthers giveaway to not come from the quarterback position. But it did take place in the backfield, underscoring how Carolina's runners and passers were under attack most of the afternoon. Philadelphia ended the day with five sacks, 10 quarterback hits and held Williams and Jonathan Stewart to 72 yards on 25 carries -- an average of just 2.88 yards per rush, their lowest combined average since a 27-3 loss at Tampa Bay last Oct. 12, and some 2.83 yards shy of their average per carry in last season's last 10 regular-season games.

"That's what they (the Eagles) do," Delhomme said. "We knew they were going to bring pressure ... We need to respond to that. If you think there was a lot of pressure this week and we didn't do too well with it, we are going to see a lot of it next week."

"They're a pressure defense, so it's not that we weren't expecting it. They just hit us on some things to which we weren't able to adjust," said fullback Brad Hoover. "They got us and bit us."

PHILADELPHIA'S PRESSURE led to the giveaways, which then put the defense under extreme pressure. Five of the giveaways allowed the Eagles to start possessions in Carolina territory. Three of those series began inside the Carolina 35-yard-line; each ended in scores -- an Akers field goal, a Donovan McNabb touchdown pass to Brent Celek and a McNabb touchdown run. Only once did the Eagles march more than 50 yards.

The defense, however, refused to use the short fields as a crutch.

"I feel like whenever we're on the field -- whether it be on our 1-yard-line or their 1-yard-line -- we need to stop them," said linebacker Jon Beason. "We definitely have to take some blame for this as a collective, team effort."

By some metrics, the defense had a solid day; it limited the Eagles to 267 yards, forced two second-half turnovers and held the Eagles to just 2.6 yards per pass play. But the Panthers' offense was limited to just 169 yards, had the seven turnovers and averaged a mere 2.1 yards per pass play, rendering moot the defense's accomplishments.

"We gave up 38 points," added defensive end Julius Peppers, whose sack forced one of the two Eagles turnovers. "We're going to win as a team, and we're going to lose as a team. We aren't blaming anyone for this. It's all of our responsibility."

BUT DELHOMME WAS UNDER THE MOST SCRUTINY from the sellout crowd of 73,599, with the five-interception, six-turnover night in January still fresh in the minds of the Panthers and their fans alike. Sunday's performance yielded a passer rating of 14.7 saw as many completions (seven) as sacks and interceptions combined, leading to pointed questions about his confidence after consecutive humbling performances.

"They have the right to ask, and the way I played today, it might have looked that way," Delhomme said. "There is not something inside of me saying, 'Oh, gosh, I can't make a mistake on this play. That's not it at all.

"If my confidence is shaken, I'll be hitting the running back every single play when guys are running down the field."

The stretch that doomed Delhomme and the Panthers began with 2:41 left in the first quarter, when a Delhomme pass for Steve Smith was intercepted by Sheldon Brown, setting up a 49-yard David Akers field goal four plays later. But three plays after Akers' kick, Delhomme was sacked by Trent Cole, jarring loose the football, which Abiamiri recovered.

After the next drive stalled and led to the ill-fated punt that DeSean Jackson returned 57 yards for a touchdown, Delhomme was intercepted by Sheldon Brown for the second time. Brown's 37-yard return set up a 9-yard McNabb-to-Brent Celek touchdown, and the Eagles had 21 points in just 4:57 -- in spite of running only one offensive play in that span.

It got no better on the next series, a three-and-out punctuated by an Akeem Jordan sack on third-and-5.

"It's uncomfortable playing quarterback when you're getting sacked and knocked around," said head coach John Fox.

But it's more than just the quarterback, something Delhomme's teammates readily admitted.

"Jake is struggling right now. Obviously he needs to look at himself and everyone else in this locker room needs to look at themselves -- me included -- to make ourselves better," Muhammad said. "I don't think that loss is only on Jake. We all contributed to that loss. It's a team sport."

Andrew Mason