Adidas and Dale Earnhardt Jr. today announced a multi-year partnership, beginning with his quest to win the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup in 2008. The collaboration will include a full line of Dale Jr. footwear, apparel and accessories including his future racing suit and technical footwear as well as off track footwear and fan apparel.
“I’ve been wearing adidas my whole life. It’s who I am. Throughout my career I’ve been fortunate to partner with brands that fit my lifestyle, and adidas fits, ” explained Dale Jr., “Because of that, I’m excited to bring adidas into our sport, introduce them to our loyal fan base, and work with them to apply their performance technologies and innovation to create cutting edge products that will help me as a race car driver and allow me to remain true to myself. ”
In the same way that crews work to enhance race cars, Dale Jr. will work directly with the adidas Innovation Team (aIT) to design and create an innovative, groundbreaking racing suit and technical driving shoes as the critical link between man and machine. Dale Jr. will debut these cutting edge adidas products at the 2008 season opener in Daytona.
“The adidas philosophy has always been to work closely with key athletes to produce innovative products that offer them every possible performance advantage, ” explained Mark Clinard, Business Director for Motor Sports, adidas America. “This is what has lead to our reputation as the leading innovator in the sporting goods industry. We consider Dale Jr. to be the most influential driver in NASCAR and therefore the perfect driver for us to work with in creating the next generation of technical driving products for NASCAR. ”
Together with Dale Jr., adidas is exploring opportunities to add technical features such as ClimaCool® to Dale Jr. ’s racing products in order to provide him with a competitive advantage.
“With extreme temperatures in the car, it is easy to see why we are exploring the potential of applying our ClimaCool® technology, ” said Clinard. “ClimaCool® products have been proven to lower body temperature and combat athlete fatigue; which is important because fatigue can lead to a decrease in reaction time and performance. We want to keep Jr. alert and responsive in those final laps to give him that performance edge that could make the ultimate difference. ”
In addition to providing fans access to Jr. ’s technical driving range, there will be an extensive collection of off track footwear, technical apparel and fan merchandise.
“I’m also looking forward to working with the adidas designers to create cool adidas gear for my fans, ” said Dale Jr. The fan product will be inspired by Dale Jr. ’s personal style and he will work with the adidas’ design team to put his thumbprint on every item from the line.
These products will be more accessible than ever via adidas’ extensive network of retail partners. For the first time, Dale Jr. licensed products will be available via adidas’ own retail stores and through sporting goods retailers such as ‘The Sports Authority, ’ who have over 400 stores nationwide. The line will roll out beginning in February 2008.
“Dale Jr. is an American icon and this is a great opportunity for adidas to extend our brand. We have developed partnerships with the NBA, NFL, MLS and a variety of major colleges and this announcement further solidifies adidas’ leadership in core American sports, ” said Clinard.
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