Earnhardt Jr. going 'old school' with Darlington paint scheme
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is an “old-school” racer, and he’ll sport an “old-school” paint scheme this weekend at Darlington Raceway.
Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet has a Mountain Dew paint scheme much like Darrell Waltrip’s No. 11 Chevy from the 1980s.
"I think the Mountain Dew retro paint scheme is very fitting for the history at Darlington,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “The car itself is an old paint scheme on a new car, and we've got an old race track with a new surface.
“It's going to be very interesting. It's going to be fun to see how to get around that track and where the fast grooves are – where to find the grip and speed. It's a real good-looking race car so I can't wait to get some good photos – old-school type photos – when I get out there."
Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 hit Darlington’s repaved 1.366-mile track Thursday.
"Dale Jr. has always been one to look back and honor the history of NASCAR,” Waltrip said. “For him to want to run my old Mountain Dew paint scheme at Darlington means a lot. It might not mean a thing to anyone else, but to me it means the world."
Part of Waltrip’s paint scheme in the '80s included his Junior Johnson pit crew wearing white pants. Earnhardt Jr.’s crew considered doing the same this weekend at Darlington.
"It's really cool,” crew chief Tony Eury Jr. said. “It probably looks more like the original deal than most people expect just because it's got two eights on it, so it almost looks like two 11s. But that was a pretty special car that Darrell Waltrip drove there for a long time.
“Me and the guys are kicking around whether we should wear our white pants or not. There's no telling what we'll show up with. Dale Jr. is telling us it will be cool, but we told him he has to wear a white driving suit if we did.
“Dale Jr. is really into the retro paint schemes and the history of NASCAR so it's a real privilege to be able to do things like that and have sponsors working with us. It kind of shows off the heritage."
