Today it was announced that Budweiser would not continue on with Jr to Hendrick. Budweiser has been Jr.’s sponsor since he started in 2000. His Dad acquired it for him and said he could see these two go a long way. Now after 7 years together they are parting ways. Budweiser said it would be on a car next year, wonder if it will stay with DEI or move on as Jr. has. Through the 7 years they have made each other grow in popularity, now with this departure, this could hurt each of them and could be a factor in the future.

Jr has mentioned he wants to continue driving a Chevrolet and it being the #8 car. DEI was told they could sell it to Hendrick, but Nascar would oversee the transaction. Fans have come up with the saying ‘Free The 8’, to help Jr continue his career with his famous number. In order for the 8 to move on with Jr to Hendrick, Teresa and president of DEI Max Siegel must come to an agreement with Hendrick. Many sport fanatics believe that DEI will let Hendrick have the 8.

Jr will replace Kyle Busch after this season and many fans are wondering what number Dale will drive. As of now the #5 car will be free, but some see Casey Mears moving over to it and Jr taking the #25 car. Most of the reason people saw Jr driving the #25 car was that they figured Budweiser would continue with him. Now since Bud is out the question of which number he will be placed in is up in the air once again.

Jr has signed with two sponsors that will start with him at Daytona. Sony and Adidas have signed contracts with him and Jr himself is excited about them joining on. Jr said that he is a big games fanatic and having Sony on board is a dream come true. Also since signing with Adidas, Jr said he will have a line of apparel including shoes, shirts, hats and other clothing. Jr will become only the fourth pro athlete to have his own apparel line.

As the number issue continues, so does the sponsor issue. Will Sony or Adidas become the main sponsor on Jr.’s car or will Hendrick keep place one of his own current sponsors on the car? If Sony or Adidas become the main sponsor, sells for either of them will begin to increase. Jr who is an icon in Nascar can help either company growth.

Hendrick has made comments that he will let Jr be Jr. He doesn’t want to change Jr in any way and feels that by letting him do his own thing will come out to benefit them both. Hendrick has done the same for all his drivers by letting make there own paths in Nascar, but he watches and guides them at times.
Gordon has gone from being named the ‘Wonder Boy’ by the late Dale Earnhardt to winning 4 championships and 79 wins, passing Earnhardt on the all-time list. Johnson, whose cars are owned by Gordon, has also won a championship and has 27 wins. Casey Mears got his first win of his career at Charlotte and is gaining momentum race after race. Kyle Busch has won 4 times in his career, once this year at Bristol being the first winner in the COT. He is currently 8th in the points and is in contention for the Chase.

As this season continues, we can only watch and wait to see what number and sponsor Jr will have. We also will watch to see if Kyle can get a ride for the ‘08’ Daytona 500. A season not to forget will continue to get only better. We will watch and see wait the future brings.