ALL-STAR: Dale Earnhardt Jr. earned a victory as a rookie in his first start in the NASCAR All-Star Race on May 20, 2000. It was a 70-lap event, and he took the lead from Dale Jarrett with two laps to go to win the race. Earnhardt has made every All-Star Race since 2000, although he has had to run The Open qualifier twice. Both times, Earnhardt transferred to the All-Star Race – once by winning the fan vote (2011) and once by winning The Open (2012). In the last four All-Star events, the Kannapolis, North Carolina, native has earned a best finish of third (2016) and a worst finish of 10th (2015).
AXALTA GRAND OPENING: On Tuesday, Axalta Coating Systems hosted a grand opening event at the new Customer Experience Center on the Hendrick Motorsports campus. The Customer Experience Center is a 36,000-square-foot training and conference complex designed to serve Axalta’s refinish, transportation OEM, and industrial customers. The Customer Experience Center boasts two state-of-the-art paint application centers, a collaborative mixing lab and an exhibit lobby where visitors can witness the breadth and depth of Axalta’s coating systems and technology.
AXALTA AND MAACO: Maaco, North America’s No. 1 bodyshop and a member of the Charlotte-based Driven Brands family, will make its debut in the All-Star Race on the No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet SS. The opportunity is thanks to a joint promotion with Maaco’s paint partner Axalta Coatings Systems. The Maaco logo will have distinctive visibility on the Axalta paint scheme under the lights for the night race. Earnhardt will participate in a press event on Thursday to promote the partnership. For information, please contact Tiffany Daniels or Debby Robinson.
NATIONWIDE UNVEILS 600 CAR: Nationwide unveiled the brand new, patriotic paint scheme that Earnhardt will pilot for Memorial Day weekend’s 600-mile race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Watch the red, white and blue No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS come to life by clicking here.
COMMERCIAL BREAK: In case you missed it, Earnhardt has played the leading role in recently debuted ad spots for two of his partners, Mountain Dew and Nationwide. For Mountain Dew, NASCAR’s 14-time most popular driver serves as a pitchman for Dew’s newest product, DEW-S-A. In Nationwide’s new commercial, the insurance company looks at another side of Earnhardt – “Golden Years Dale” – to promote its retirement planning services. |