The decision to get the rights back to the Budweiser 8 car has been a lucrative one for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and JR Motorsports.
Last week, they announced the return of the iconic car. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Budweiser proudly made it public that Dale Jr., who retired from full time racing in 2017, will once again drive the iconic Budweiser No. 8 Chevrolet for a limited series of Late Model Stock Car Races in 2024 and 2025.
But the more important part of that is that the Bud 8 is BACK:
Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove the number 8 car while he was racing for his father’s team, Dale Earnhardt Inc, from 1999 until 2007. He only stopped driving the iconic car when he asked for ownership of DEI from Teresa Earnhardt – the widow of Dale Earnhardt. Teresa wasn’t willing to give Dale Jr. ownership of the team, and also wasn’t willing to hand over the #8, so Dale moved over to Team Hendrick and drove the #88 car until he retired.
But over the past year, when Teresa gave up the trademark and offered it up as somewhat of an olive branch, Dale Jr. happily took back the Bud 8. In doing so, the legendary NASCAR driver felt that it was time to bring back officially licensed Budweiser 8 merchandise… under one condition:
“If she doesn’t want to pay for the trademark anymore, I’m like, ‘Well we better get that.’ Because I want it safe. And when we thought about doing something with it, we were like, ‘Man I don’t want to just make merch.’ But if we raced the car, then I would feel comfortable with the merch. That’s what got us talking to Budweiser about it.”
Dale knew if he was going to bring the Bud 8 back, he had to do it right. 🍺🔥 pic.twitter.com/bZsSJT0hyk
— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) October 22, 2024
So once Dale Jr. and his team found a way to bring the Bud 8 back to the track, they felt it was finally right and justified to release corresponding merchandise. JR Motorsports quickly got their merch store updated with the throwback Budweiser merch, including but not limited to:
-$250 autographed full-sized branded helmets
-$140 autographed die-cast toys
-$50 crewneck sweatshirts
-$40 long-sleeve shirts
-$30 t-shirts
-$27 hats
-$10 signs
-$5 koozies
Merch so hot, you'll need an ice cold @budweiserusa to cool down.
Shop now: https://t.co/rSrdj6VfQP pic.twitter.com/hDf6P3HrUW
— JR Motorsports (@JRMotorsports) October 22, 2024
And according to the Sports Business Journal, Dale Jr. and JR Motorsports have already raked in “mid six figures” in sales from the new-yet-old merchandise. How on Earth did they sell that much in such a short amount of time?
Well, nostalgia sells, and as you’ll see in the comments that were left online, fans were flocking to buy some Bud 8 merch:
Dude had me spreading purchases across different cards to keep my wife from knowing what’s going on. 🤪
— stlwhirlwind (@stlwhirlwind) October 29, 2024
I did my part to contribute 🫡 😂
— 🏁 Allen Bedgood 🏈 (@RacingBedgood) October 29, 2024
Everyone want @Budweiser and @DaleJr together. It’s like peanut butter and jelly
— Todd Fiucci (@cyntod) October 29, 2024
Don’t tell my wife!
— Donnie Blackford (@BlackfordDonni1) October 29, 2024
Glad I could contribute and my the 1:64 scale diecast, it’s gonna be awesome seeing one of the most popular drivers in the history of NASCAR back behind the wheel of the Budweiser number eight.
— Alex Stricklin (@_AlexStricklin_) October 29, 2024
