If Budweiser does not follow Dale Earnhardt Jr. to Hendrick Motorsports who would you like to see sponsor NASCAR’s most popular driver?
Right now there are a few sponsors on the rumor mill like Monster Energy and Pepsi/Mountain Dew, both of which are a perfect fit.
Monster Energy typically caters to the younger crowd that is interested in extreme sports. They have stepped up their presence in motorsports sponsoring Robby Gordon in Cup and NHRA Funny Car driver Kenny Bernstein. And remember before Monster, Bernstein was sponsored by Budweiser for 22 years.
Pepsi would be the logical choice because of their long-time association with Jeff Gordon and Hendrick Motorsports. Could you imagine Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Gordon forming a Pepsi super team running two cars at Talladega or Daytona? I can just picture a majority of the Junior nation getting sick to their stomach right now with the thought of that.
Pepsi also has a bunch of brands that fit Junior with Mountain Dew topping the list. Mountain Dew would be a popular one because it would be retro. Remember how cool it was to see Brian Vickers pilot a Hendrick Busch car that paid tribute to Darrell Waltrip’s first Cup title at Michigan in 2006. With Mountain Dew on the track and Waltrip in the booth just imagine how much airtime that sponsor will get. Don't forget Waltrip was also sponsored by Gatorade - another Pepsi product.
Junior also had a successful sponsorship deal with Yum Brands, which serves Pespi products in most of their restaurants. Junior had KFC and Taco Bell on his Busch cars back in 2004.
As of now we are playing the waiting game with Bud and if Hendrick can obtain the No. 8 from DEI.
So "if" Bud is out of the question with Junior in 2008, my pick would be PepsiCo for the sponsorship of his Hendrick Motorsports ride.
Who do you think will sponsor Dale Jr. "if" Bud does not follow him?