It is safe to say Dale Earnhardt Jr. lives and breathes NASCAR. The former Cup Series driver turned broadcaster and team owner is one of the most hands-on owners in the sport, with an involvement in the world of stock car racing that ranges from the grassroots level to the highest, from being a driver’s driver to one of the most experienced owners in the field.
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Junior recently shared an insight into one aspect of the NASCAR world, which also catches his fancy from time to time—designing cars. Known for some pretty iconic schemes from his days driving, to bringing them back when he races himself, or for his drivers when they compete in the Xfinity Series, is common practice for Junior.
On a recent episode of his popular podcast, The Dale Jr. Download, he revealed what goes on behind the scenes to design a cool-looking paint scheme as a team, and how the same is aligned with sponsors.
“The sponsors usually have bad ideas. They don’t know what makes a, they see on paper. ‘Oh, that’s cool,’ but paper to racetrack, you lose a lot. Things get harder to see. A lot of times, they’ll put their decal or name on the racecar on the paper, and you’re like, ‘Dude, that’s going to disappear on the track.’ You gotta kind of guide them, hold their hand a little bit.”
Elaborating on how a design often appears to work in concept but not in real life, Junior touched on how he often guides sponsors so that their visibility is maximized on track, something which, at the end of the day, is paying the team’s bills to go racing.
Do drivers care how their cars look? Junior gives his take
Dale Jr. also gave his take on whether or not drivers are concerned with how their cars look. More often than not, a car’s performance and speed are the ultimate test of whether the driver likes it or not.
However, Junior revealed his take on the matter and said, “I’ve talked to drivers and they’re like, ‘Oh, I don’t care what the car looks like.’ And I’m like, ‘How could you not care what it looks like, right?'”
Touching on how he gets excited to drive a car with a good-looking paint scheme rather than one without, Junior spoke on the matter from a privileged position of not having to perform. However, that still does not take away from the fact that eye-catching designs are what NASCAR, as a sport, is known for.
All in all, paint schemes define the very essence of the sport, and racing in general, with some colors getting more recognition and fan following given the driver and team’s success who drove them.
