In a unified effort, the primary sponsors of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. will pay tribute to Dale Earnhardt with special paint schemes at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend. The schemes will salute Dale Earnhardt Day (April 29th), his induction into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and his accomplishments at Talladega. Earnhardt, a seven-time NASCAR champion is the winningest driver at Talladega with 10 trips to Victory Lane. Fittingly, his 76th Nextel Cup victory occurred at the track in October of 2000. And, he did it in Earnhardt fashion by coming from 17th to first in the closing laps. The #1 Bass Pro Shops, #8 Budweiser and #11 Menards Chevys will carry paint schemes reminiscent of the familiar black theme Dale Earnhardt ran while driving for DEI in the Busch Series. Additionally, Bass Pro Shops will sponsor Martin Truex, Jr. in Saturday's Busch Series race. Truex, a two-time Busch Series champion and two-time winner of the NBS race at Talladega, will drive the #8 black Bass Pro Shops Chevy.
"I think this is a great tribute to Dale on such a special weekend," said Teresa Earnhardt, President and CEO of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. "To have all of our sponsors come together with this tribute and want to be a part of it says a lot about the respect they have for Dale's accomplishments." In addition to the black paint schemes, Dale Earnhardt Day and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame induction, all Busch Series teams are being asked to carry a Dale Earnhardt Legacy Logo on their cars. Fans are asked to participate from the grandstands, or wherever they are watching the race, by raising three fingers in the air on Lap 3 of Saturday's Busch Series race.