NASCAR will not let Little E have the No. 8

Jun 28, 2007

Mike Maniscalco from Richmond.com reports: With Dale Earnhardt, Jr., moving to Hendrick Motorsports there is a lot of money up for grabs. The largest cash flow involves a single digit: No. 8 on the side of his Chevy. As his number, it is one of the most recognizable trademarks in all of racing.

But it might not belong to Earnhardt, Jr., anymore. NASCAR controls how the numbers are handed out and DEI, Junior’s soon-to-be-former employer, has the number in its lineup.

NASCAR doesn’t like it when companies make side deals that cut the office out of the loop. All due respect to fans of the 8, but NASCAR should not let Little E have the number because the sport will lose out on a number in the millions.

Jim Utter of the Charlotte Observer: Hendrick Motorsports will not be able to purchase the No. 8 from Dale Earnhardt Inc., nor will any other team for that matter. NASCAR on Monday reiterated its long-standing policy that the sanctioning body owns and assigns car numbers, and spokesman Ramsey Poston said a team cannot sell its car number. “NASCAR owns the numbers and licenses them to teams on an annual basis,” Poston said. “A team may allow another team to use the number for that year pending NASCAR’s approval.” And the numbers are not for sale, he said.

David Newton from ESPN: Car owner Rick Hendrick has let it be known to officials at Dale Earnhardt Inc. that he’d like to purchase the No. 8 for Dale Earnhardt Jr. when he begins driving for his organization in 2008. “I’m not sure what their position is or what they want for it,” Hendrick said Saturday between practices at Infineon Raceway. Earnhardt said last week he would like to stay in the No. 8 if a deal can be reached with DEI owner Teresa Earnhardt, who has the rights to the number and his long-time sponsor, Budweiser. Max Siegel, the president of global operations at DEI, said he will not act until there is a formal proposal. Hendrick doesn’t expect any sort of announcement for at least a few weeks.