NASCAR.COM - Earnhardt to be in No. 88 with Pepsi, National Guard - Sep 19, 2007
I am so glad the wait is over!
NASCAR.COM - Earnhardt to be in No. 88 with Pepsi, National Guard - Sep 19, 2007
Earnhardt to be in No. 88 with Pepsi, National
Guard
DALLAS — Dale Earnhardt Jr. will have two 8s on his new car.
NASCAR’s
most popular driver will be in the No. 88 Chevrolet when he moves to
Hendrick Motorsports next season, the team announced Wednesday.
Earnhardt’s car will be sponsored by Pepsi, with the company’s Mountain
Dew soft drink and Amp Energy drink featured on the car. The National
Guard will also be involved in the sponsorship.The new number
and sponsor are another step in the rebranding of Earnhardt from party
boy to serious corporate pitchman, one that now can be heavily marketed
to the under-21 crowd.“I never thought a car number would create this much excitement,” said car owner Rick Hendrick,
who has won seven Nextel Cup titles. “Trying to do it and keep it quiet
from the rest of the world until you have it all together, it was
probably the toughest thing I’ve ever done in motorsports.”Earnhardt
has driven the No. 8 Chevrolet for DEI since 2000 with Budweiser’s
sponsorship. He tried to take the No. 8 with him to Hendrick, but
stepmother Teresa Earnhardt refused to give up her rights to it. Mark Martin and Aric Almirola will co-drive that car next year and it will be sponsored by the U.S. Army.Budweiser will become the primary sponsor next season for the No. 9 Dodge driven by Kasey Kahne.
“It’s
important that we work hard and make a good statement as we close this
out and start a new chapter next year,” Earnhardt said. “The
anticipation is at a boiling point. I’m ready to get over to Rick’s and
start racing.”The No. 88 was retired by Robert Yates Racing, which asked NASCAR to transfer the number to Hendrick for Earnhardt.
“Ralph
Earnhardt drove the No. 88 Oldsmobile in 1957 and because of this
number’s history with the Earnhardt family, I felt car No. 88 should
continue with Dale Earnhardt Jr.,” Robert Yates said in a statement.
“Younger fans don’t realize I built cars and raced against Ralph. I
also had a very close relationship with Dale Earnhardt Sr. I’m proud to
transfer this number to Dale Jr.”The driver unveiled his line of candy bars, “Dale Jr.’s Big Mo’,” at a candy expo in Chicago on Tuesday.
Earnhardt
had already signed personal services contracts with Adidas and Sony. He
became the fourth athlete to receive a clothing line from Adidas,
joining soccer’s David Beckham, football’s Reggie Bush and basketball’s
Tracy McGrady.The car sponsorship was announced in Dallas, where
1,500 Pepsi bottlers were holding their annual meeting. Earnhardt
appeared before that group before publicly announcing the deal.
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