Dale Earnhardt Jr. Paint Schemes, 1-25
by Tom Jensen July 27, 2022
In a premier series career that ran from 1999 to 2017, Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. had plenty of great paint schemes.
Over the years, Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2021) drove a lot of good-looking Chevrolet premier series race cars.
After making five starts in 1999, Earnhardt moved to the premier series full time in 2000, when he drove Chevrolets for his father’s Dale Earnhardt Inc. team. Earnhardt Jr. stayed at DEI through the 2007 season, after which he moved to Hendrick Motorsports, where he would race until the end of his career.
But regardless of whether Earnhardt was at DEI or Hendrick, he always had good looking cars.
In this week’s blog, we take a look at 50 of Earnhardt’s most distinctive paint schemes. Here are numbers 1-25, in chronological order from the start of his premier series career.
Photo courtesy of Jon Ferrey /Allsport
1. With sponsorship from Budweiser, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s rookie NASCAR premier series car was the red No. 8 Chevrolet.
Photo courtesy of NASCAR Archives & Research Center via Getty Images
2. A victory in the 2001 Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway was an emotional highlight of the season for Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Photo courtesy of by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images
3. The 2003 season saw Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Chevrolet carry a distinctive Budweiser paint scheme in the Tropicana 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.
Photo courtesy of NASCAR Archives & Research Center/CQ-Roll Call Group via Getty Images
4. The first of two Daytona 500 victories for Dale Earnhardt Jr. came in 2004, when he drove this Budweiser Born-On Date-sponsored Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
Photo courtesy of Todd Warshaw/Getty Images
5. At Richmond International Raceway in 2005, the Dale Earnhardt Inc. No. 8 Chevrolet was two-tone, with traditional Budweiser red and black.
Photo courtesy of Harry How/Getty Images
6. Here’s a real rarity, a white Budweiser paint scheme used on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 8 Chevrolet during the 2006 3M Performance 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
Photo courtesy of Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR
7. During the 2007 season, NASCAR introduced its fifth-generation race car, which was initially referred to as “the Car of Tomorrow.”
Photo courtesy of Layne Murdoch/Getty Images
8. In a press conference in Dallas on September 19, 2007, Hendrick Motorsports unveiled the two primary paint schemes Dale Earnhardt Jr. would race with in 2008.
Photo courtesy of Layne Murdoch/Getty Images
9. In addition to debuting the National Guard and Mountain Dew as Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s two primary sponsors for 2008, at the Dallas press conference, Hendrick Motorsports revealed that Earnhardt’s cars would carry No. 88.
Photo courtesy of John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR
10. Mountain Dew colors adorned the side of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet during the spring race at Darlington Raceway in 2008.
Photo courtesy of John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR
11. For the 2008 NASCAR All-Star Race, the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driven by Dale Earnhardt carried a JR Motorsports Foundation logo on the hood.
Photo courtesy of Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR
12. During testing at Pocono Raceway in May 2008, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Chevrolet was trimmed out in black and silver like Hall of Famer Buddy Baker’s (2020) “Gray Ghost” Daytona 500 winner from 1980.
Photo courtesy of John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR
13. When the NASCAR premier series took to the high banks of Daytona International Speedway for the 2008 Coke Zero 400, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Chevrolet had a camo paint job.
Photo courtesy of John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR
14. For the second year in a row, Mountain Dew was the primary sponsor for Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Darlington Raceway, this time in May 2009.
Photo courtesy of Chris Graythen/Getty Images
15. Dale Earnhardt Jr. saluted his late father by winning the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide (now Xfinity) Series Subway Jalapeno 250 at Daytona International Speedway in a No. 3 Chevrolet with Wrangler sponsorship.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for NASCAR
16. Another unique look for the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of Dale Earnhardt Jr. made an appearance at Michigan International Speedway iin August 2010.
Photo courtesy of Todd Warshaw/Getty Images
17. Going for a spooky look during Halloween weekend of 2010 at Talladega Superspeedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. paid tribute to the Legends of Hallowdega.
Photo courtesy of Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR
18. Six days before the 2010 premier series season ended, Dale Earnhardt Jr. participated in a fuel injection test at Daytona International Speedway.
Photo courtesy of Drew Hallowell/Getty Images for NASCAR
19. Under threatening skies at historic Darlington Raceway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. practiced his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet prior to the 2011 Southern 500.
Photo courtesy of Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR
20. In the 2011 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. led his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson in the draft.
Photo courtesy of John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR
21. This colorful green over silver No. 88 Chevrolet Impala was driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the 2011 Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Photo courtesy of Tyler Barrick/Getty Images for NASCAR
22. In the 2012 Goody's Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 Chevrolet featured Diet Mountain Dew as its primary sponsor.
Photo courtesy of Ronald C. Modra/Getty Images
23. Patriotic colors are always in fashion at the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The 2012 race continued that tradition with lots of red, white, and blue for Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Photo courtesy of Drew Hallowell/Getty Images for NASCAR
24. After winning the 2012 Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was congratulated by his Hendrick Motorsports crew.
Photo courtesy of Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR
25. Diet Mountain Dew was back as the primary sponsor of Dale Earnhardt’s No. 88 Chevrolet for the 2012 Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
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