Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his long-time sponsor Mountain Dew will honor thousands of lucky fans during their final race together.
Earnhardt and Mountain Dew recently launched the Ride With Jr. contest, from which they will select 100,000 fans, whose names will be included in his No. 88 Chevrolet SS’s paint scheme during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Alabama 500. The opportunity is especially unique, as the Oct. 15 race not only will be Earnhardt’s final Cup race with Mountain Dew, but likely his final running at Talladega Superspeedway.
“I think it’s pretty cool that fans will have the opportunity to get their names on our Mountain Dew Chevy for my last race at Talladega,” Earnhardt told For The Win.
The 42-year-old Hendrick Motorsports driver currently is in the midst of his farewell circuit, which involves lots of gifts, as they often do for great athletes. But he also is on his JR Nation APPRECI88ION Tour, which is all about Earnhardt showing his appreciation for those within the sport, rather than the other way around.
“Our whole idea on finishing up the season is to try to show our appreciation to our fans and everyone in the industry on making this an incredibly enjoyable ride, so this is another great way to do that,” Earnhardt said, via FTW.
Mountain Dew reportedly said it will include more than 100,000 names on the No. 88 if it there is room.
We’re not surprised Mountain Dew was willing to help him on that mission of giving back. The two have enjoyed a decade-long relationship, and he has appeared in some pretty awesome commercials for the beverage brand.
Thumbnail photo via Mike DiNovo/USA TODAY Sports Images
