Brad Keselowski Unveils #Cheers2DaleJr Throwback Scheme For Talladega

Brad Keselowski gave Dale Earnhardt Jr. his birthday present a day early this year.

Keselowski on Monday announced that he will run a special paint scheme at Talladega Superspeedway as a tribute to Earnhardt and his Xfinity Series team, JR Motorsports.

The primarily white car’s design is based on the Navy-sponsored No. 88 car that Keselowski ran for JR Motorsports in 2007. What’s more, the Miller Lite-sponsored No. 2 features #Cheers2DaleJr decals along the rear quarter panels.

Keselowski’s real tribute to the soon-to-be retired Hendrick Motorsports driver, however, came in the form of a blog post that he shared Monday. The piece included a brief tribute to Earnhardt and an explanation of the one-off paint scheme, followed by a republishing of the Team Penske racer’s first blog entry, in which Keselowski discussed how influential Earnhardt had been in the early stages of his career.

Earnhardt’s appreciation of the gesture was fairly obvious, as he thanked Keselowski before he posted to thank everybody for their happy birthday messages.

Thumbnail photo via Adam Hagy/USA TODAY Sports Images