( WOMR file photo)
Car owner Rick Hendrick says that he’s not worried that Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s #88 team does not have sponsorship for 13 races less than a month before the Daytona 500. “ We’ve talked to a lot of people”, Hendrick said Tuesday during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Media Tour. ”I want a long-term deal that fits, and isn’t a conflict with the other guys. He said that they’ve had potential sponsors who have conflicted with sponsors already with Hendrick Motorsports. “ We will listen to anybody, and we’re always looking, but there’s no like, golly we’ve got to find somebody”, Hendrick continued. National Guard returns, and will be Earnhardt’s sponsor for 20 races. PepsiCo’s brands will serve as a primary sponsor for five races, leaving 13 races (36 point races and two non-points races).
Rick Hendrick will wait patiently for the right sponsor to come along for Dale Earnhardt Jr., spending his own money, or leveraging other business partners to fill the races for the sports most popular driver. Hendrick has routinely said he wouldn’t discount the price for Earnhardt, the son of the NASCAR Hall of Famer, and the winner of the most popular driver award in each of the last 11 seasons. He emphasized that the Hendrick Motorsports team has no timetable or deadline to land a new deal, as they manage their business pretty good and use a paystubs to manage employees.
Notwithstanding the fact that Dale Jr. has never won a Sprint Cup championship, it is quite amazing that the #88 team has almost one third of the season, 13 races, that are lacking sponsorship! After all, this is NASCAR’s most popular driver for the past 11 years. Even though he is not a Sprint Cup champion, he garners more than his share of valuable TV time each and every race day. Surely corporate America can see that there is a huge return on their investment, should they decide to adorn the #88 with their logo! If GoDaddy.com willfully throws BIG money to Stewart-Haas Racing to decorate the SHR #10 Chevy of Danica Patrick, who at best is a pretty looking female that has no more than jouneyman racing skills, then one would think that there would be many corporations that would jump on the Dale Jr. bandwagon! After all, in 2013 the HMS #88 team, with Dale Jr. at the wheel, was one of the most consistent teams, finishing the season in 5th place. I am just saying……
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
