Earnhardt’s new No. 88 has a link with the past

Like a fashion designer reverting to the tried and true for next year’s collection, Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Wednesday said he would drive the venerable No. 88 next season with two established NASCAR sponsors.

Earnhardt, who will leave behind his iconic fire-engine red No. 8 Chevrolet when he jumps to the Hendrick Motorsports team in 2008, said he would pilot a No. 88 Chevy with two main sponsors: PepsiCo Inc., through its Mountain Dew AMP Energy drink, and the U.S. National Guard.

The announcement ended months of speculation since Earnhardt said in June that he would leave Dale Earnhardt Inc., the team started by his late father, seven-time Cup champion Dale Earnhardt.

The younger Earnhardt, known as “Junior” to his legion of fans, already had said he would not be able to keep the No. 8 Chevy car he drives for DEI. His current main sponsor, Budweiser beer, also had said it would not move with him.

His announcement was pivotal for the $2-billion NASCAR merchandise market, especially for the driver merchandise business, where Earnhardt, the sport’s most popular driver, commands more than 30% of the market. Earnhardt’s decision will now send firms scrambling to produce hats, T-shirts, jackets, die-cast model cars and dozens of other items emblazoned with his new car’s number and paint scheme.

The new look is relatively subdued compared to the bright red Earnhardt paraphernalia that currently fills NASCAR stands. In two versions of Earnhardt’s 88 Chevy car unveiled Wednesday, one had a green hood and roof top with the AMP logo in white, and the other the same design in blue with the National Guard logo in white. Both versions had white side panels, the “88” in red on the side and black rear panels.

In picking a new number, “I was really trying to . . . do good by my fans because it was very important to them,” Earnhardt said in Dallas, where 1,500 PepsiCo bottlers were holding their annual meeting. “That was one of the more popular questions: ‘Will it have an 8 in it?’ I think they can be twice as happy about the situation.”

Team owner Rick Hendrick said “we were looking at everything with 8 in it,” including No. 28, which was driven by the late Davey Allison. Earnhardt settled on No. 88, held by Robert Yates Racing under lease from NASCAR, and reached a deal to transfer the number.

Financial terms of that deal, and Earnhardt’s sponsorship pact, were not disclosed.

The No. 88 has deep roots in NASCAR. Veteran Ricky Rudd currently drives the 88 Ford for Yates, but Rudd is retiring at season’s end. Others who drove the 88 in their careers included Dale Jarrett, Rusty Wallace, Bobby Allison and Buddy Baker. Earnhardt’s grandfather, Ralph, drove the No. 88 in 1957 and Earnhardt himself owns a No. 88 car in NASCAR’s second-tier Busch Series.

“I like the fact that the number has some history, that makes me feel very proud to have it,” said Earnhardt, 32, who has 17 Cup victories in his eight-year career.

Pepsi has long sponsored NASCAR stock cars, and in the past decade has been a major sponsor of Jeff Gordon, the four-time Cup champion and another Hendrick driver. Its Mountain Dew brand also was the main sponsor of Darrell Waltrip’s car when he won the title in 1981 and 1982.

The National Guard currently sponsors another Hendrick driver, Casey Mears of Bakersfield. But next year Mears is taking over the No. 5 Kellogg’s Chevy now driven by Kyle Busch, who is moving to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2008 to drive that team’s No. 18 Chevrolet.

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james.peltz@latimes.com