Budweiser and Junior to Part Ways

After Dale Earnhardt Junior earlier this year announced that he will be leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc. after this season, there were questions where the most popular NASCAR driver today will end up. That question has already been answered when Earnhardt confirmed that he has signed with Hendrick Motorsports for next year.

Another question raised during that time is whether Junior’s sponsor Budweiser will be following him to whatever team he will be racing for next season. The answer to that question has also been answered as Budweiser is reportedly looking for a new driver to sponsor next season.

It is now widely known in the paddocks that Budweiser officials are in a quest to find a driver to sponsor next season which means that the ‘King of Beers’ will not be sponsoring Junior next season. Although adjudged as the most popular NASCAR driver today by fans, it seems that the move by Junior from the team that his father started to Hendrick Motorsports made Budweiser think about withdrawing the sponsorship.

Speculations arise that Junior will be sponsored next season by PepsiCo Inc. It is also expected that if the sponsorship of the soda company pushes through for Junior, his car will be boasting a Mountain Dew logo or a combination of Pepsi products. Junior will be driving the Number 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick next season.

It is also reported that Budweiser is talking with Evernham Motorsports regarding sponsorship for the following season. It is speculated that Anheuser-Bush, the makers of Budweiser would move their logo from Junior’s to hood to Kasey Kahne’s Number 9 Dodge just above its Dodge bumper next season.

Officials from Budweiser have also contacted officials at the Lowe’s Motors Speedway. This is in connection with the possibility of holding a press event at Lowe’s if Budweiser has already found a substitute to Junior.

According to an official from Evernham Motorsports, no agreements have yet been formed between them and Budweiser. The official went on to say that the team is still talking with other companies that are also interested in sponsoring the team for the next season.

Ray Evernham, the owner of the team, has a standing agreement with Dodge via the Dodge Dealers for a sponsorship of Kahne’s car and the Number 19 Dodge driven by Elliott Saddler. Accepting sponsorship from Budweiser for Kahne’s car would mean that Dodge Dealers should agree to it.

Although speculations are rampant that Budweiser will be sponsoring a Dodge next season, there are also reports that there is still a possibility that Budweiser would remain with Dale Earnhardt Inc. But this would only hold out to be true if Budweiser like who DEI will be bringing in to replace Junior.

It can be remembered that Budweiser has sponsored Junior since his rookie season in 2000. With Junior’s popularity and the amount of air time that the Budweiser logo appears on national television painted across Junior’s car’s hood has been translated to millions of dollars worth of advertisement. The reason for Budweiser’s apparent lack of support for Junior’s jump to another team is yet to be cleared.

Aside from Kahne, Budweiser is also reportedly looking at three more drivers to sponsor next year. The three drivers that Budweiser is considering were not named by the company. In the end, one of these four drivers, one is Kahne and the others still unknown, will be picked by Budweiser to sponsor next year.