The Junior Nation will not be happy with this news. Hendrick Morotsports has announced that Dale Earnhardt jr. will not get to keep the number 8 that he is famous for. Negotiations between DEI and HMS were unsuccessful. (read: the cost is too high) No one has revealed what DEI demanded in order to make this deal work.
Many drivers have changed teams and sponsors during their career. The number on the door will not make or break Dale jr’s career. Perhaps the only other 2 examples of a driver being identified with a single number are Richard Petty with 43, and the late Dale Earnhardt with the number 3. Fans can be pretty emotional about such things. When Petty retired from driving at the end of the ‘92 season, the fans were urging that he retire the number 43. Some will remember the ‘93 season where Rick Wilson was picked to drive the 44 STP car. The 43 was on the shelf for that season. Petty put the number back on his car for ‘94 as well as a new driver.
Lesson here; nothing is forever. If you have a tattoo of the 8 on your arm, your best hope is that he gets a number that has an 8 with it. Budweiser will move on and establish a new identity with another driver. The 8 car will hit the track at Daytona with a new driver and different sponsor.
Dale jr, BUDWEISER and the 8. it was almost magic while it lasted. It is doubtful that BUDWEISER has ever had a better marketing deal. Way better than any other driver in NASCAR that drove under the BUD logo. Hands down better than their long association with Kenny Bernstein in the NHRA.
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