Thursday, April 29, 2010

Dale Jr's No. 3 Wrangler Tribute - Smartest Business Move of the Year


Today's announcement that Dale Earnhardt Jr. will drive the No. 3 Wrangler Chevrolet at Daytona this summer may have been the worst-kept secret in all of NASCAR.

But the lack of shock value at the car's unveiling didn't seem to matter to the tried-and-true Earnhardt fans watching the live webcast streamed by DEI this afternoon.

If online chatter is any barometer, Earnhardt  fans and Junior Nation alike were thrilled to the gills about Dale the younger driving his father's famous number (and the old-school paint scheme) on the Daytona asphalt. Many watching the web cast commented they had already pre-ordered the diecast, t-shirts and other merchandise that will be available as part of the special car's promotion.

It's just such fan reaction that will make this unexpected collaboration between the oft-maligned Teresa Earnhardt, Dale Jr. and Richard Childress go down as racing's smartest business move in 2010.

Let's face it. Ticket sales are down. Merchandise sales stink. Fans have less income and are highly particular about how they spend it. In this economy, you have to offer spectacular product to make big bucks.

And with the Daytona race coming on the heels of Earnhardt's induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, nobody could argue that the No. 3 Wrangler tribute, and all that when into making it happen, is pretty darn spectacular.

Per the offical Daytona International Speedway press release -

The legendary No. 3 car with Dale Earnhardt Jr. behind the wheel will be returning to the historic high banks of Daytona International Speedway in the Subway Jalapeno 250 Powered By Coca-Cola NASCAR Nationwide Series race on Friday, July 2.

"The No. 3 car has always been a favorite among our race fans here at Daytona,” said Daytona International Speedway President Robin Braig. “Having Dale Earnhardt Jr. competing at the ‘World Center of Racing’ with the storied No. 3 will be an exciting moment that all race fans will want to witness in person.”


Tickets for the race are available online at http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com/ or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP.

Photo: The Earnhardts and Richard Childress pose with the No. 3 Wrangler Chevrolet which Dale Jr. will drive this July at Daytona, from @MikeDavis88 via Twitter.

9 comments:

  1. You are soooooo right! Jr's been losing fans - and therefore merchandise sales - since he hasn't been performing. RCR just lost a sponsor. And Teresa's dreams of making millions from Dale Sr just like Priscilla Presley did from Elvis need a jump start. This will benefit all of them.

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  2. Where did you get the idea Jr's been losing fans? As a matter of fact new fans are coming aboard each and every day, and current fans are staying loyal.

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  3. Jr fans are the most loyal in racing due to his personality and his honesty. he is the best person driver in NASCAR.

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  4. I must respectfully disagree. Jr. has underperformed and oversold for years. And if you wanna talk about the best person driver in NASCAR, I'm just sayin'... Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch... The things they do for children and fans that never get coverage is amazing. Jr. owns a bar.

    I also would venture to say that Jr. is losing fans. Namely new NASCAR fans who threw their support behind him because they had heard of him. I have already seen 2 guys migrate away from Jr. as their driver: one towards Jimmie Johnson and one towards Kyle Busch. Not sayin' I agree with their driver choice, but I've seen it.

    This is a smart play on Jr.'s part, as well as everybody else involved. I for one, as a not Jr. fan will be watching to see how he performs in the legendary number 3. I can only pray to the racing gods that he doesn't make a stupid, rookie mistake and crash that legendary car.

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  5. Didn't Junior Just Give Victory Junction a very large check?

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  6. Trust me Junior is losing no fans.

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  7. Junior drove the #3 to 2 Busch series championships, it's a legendary number of course, but it is also HIS number in that series..

    Proud member of Junior Nation.

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  8. wow, someone know a whole 2 fans thatleft the Jr camp. LOL

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  9. I will always be a Dale Jr fan.Win or lose I respect Jr as a driver and the great person he is.He is human and I am sure he makes some mistakes but don't we all Dale Jr fan 4 Life and no I do not want him to be his Dad then he would not be the Dale Jr we love

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