Dale Earnhardt Jr. Move to Hendrick Motorsports a Boon to Marketing
Wednesday June 13, 2007
Since NASCAR's Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced the split between him and his late father's company, DEI, media outlets everywhere have speculated about where he would go next. The announcement that he was teaming up with Hendrick Motorsports is giving marketing and promotions experts a hot topic for the water cooler.
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However, as competitive as racing is, there's a catch. Earnhardt Jr. and former rival Jeff Gordon are now teammates since they both work for Hendrick Motorsports. Fans may not like that move but Earnhardt Jr.'s die hard fans will still follow, ringing up sales at cash registers across the country.
Another factor in question is Earnhardt Jr.'s Anheuser-Busch sponsorship. While his sponsorship contract isn't set to expire until next year, the sponsor moving with the driver isn't an automatic deal. Both Earnhardt Jr. and Anheuser-Busch praise each other and each seems to want to work together but Jr. also let on that the door was open for new players to get their logo on his new car.
Earnhardt Jr. has been driving the number 8 Budweiser car for eight years. Hendrick Motorsports may trade the number 5, currently driven by Kyle Busch who's leaving the team at the end of the season, for the number 8. As for the sponsorships, Earnhardt Jr. is letting his new boss, Rick Hendrick, decide what stickers are going on the new car.
Update July 13, 2007 - Hendrick Motorsports announces Budweiser will not be the sponsor of Dale Earnhardt, Jr., in 2008, citing other sponsor obligations. Anheuser-Busch has not announced where it will take its Budweiser sponsorship.
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More on Earnhardt Jr.'s Boon to Marketing:
However, as competitive as racing is, there's a catch. Earnhardt Jr. and former rival Jeff Gordon are now teammates since they both work for Hendrick Motorsports. Fans may not like that move but Earnhardt Jr.'s die hard fans will still follow, ringing up sales at cash registers across the country.
Another factor in question is Earnhardt Jr.'s Anheuser-Busch sponsorship. While his sponsorship contract isn't set to expire until next year, the sponsor moving with the driver isn't an automatic deal. Both Earnhardt Jr. and Anheuser-Busch praise each other and each seems to want to work together but Jr. also let on that the door was open for new players to get their logo on his new car.
Earnhardt Jr. has been driving the number 8 Budweiser car for eight years. Hendrick Motorsports may trade the number 5, currently driven by Kyle Busch who's leaving the team at the end of the season, for the number 8. As for the sponsorships, Earnhardt Jr. is letting his new boss, Rick Hendrick, decide what stickers are going on the new car.
Update July 13, 2007 - Hendrick Motorsports announces Budweiser will not be the sponsor of Dale Earnhardt, Jr., in 2008, citing other sponsor obligations. Anheuser-Busch has not announced where it will take its Budweiser sponsorship.