June 21, 2007
By Allen Madding

Allen Madding

What would Hendrick Motorsports stand to gain from purchasing the No. 8 from DEI?

If Budweiser were to be signed to be the sponsor for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. next season at Hendrick Motorsports and Hendrick secured the No. 8 for the car, most fans would continue to wear their current wardrobe. But, if Dale Earnhardt, Jr. were to be in a car with a new number, much of his fan base will rush out to purchase new hats, jackets, shirts, coolers, chairs, diecast cars, and other merchandise.

Hendrick and Earnhardt, Jr. would financially benefit from the resulting surge in sales. So what would motivate Hendrick to spend money to pay the premium that Teresa Earnhardt and DEI would surely demand for the number?

Dale Earnhardt, Sr. and Richard Childress Racing, years ago, figured out that if they created a special paint job for the famed No. 3 Goodwrench car once a year for the Winston All-Star race, the paint scheme would generate a significant amount of sales in diecast cars and related merchandise. After the success of the first experience, they adopted the practice as an annual promotion. Earnhardt passed the idea on to DEI and his son’s No. 8 team, which enjoyed huge success with the Major League Baseball paint scheme in the Pepsi 400.

One can be quite certain that Rick Hendrick has learned a lot from observing Earnhardt and Childress. The No. 24 Dupont car driven by Jeff Gordon soon began showing up at the All-Star event with special one-time paint jobs as well, and Hendrick Motorsports began enjoying the huge increase in merchandise sales generated by these special events.

The famous slanted No. 8 is a registered trademark of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Earnhardt, Sr. and Teresa trademarked their “stylized” number to protect their merchandizing line from freelance shirt and cap manufacturers from infringing on their authorized product line and selling items with the slanted No. 8 without DEI realizing any income. Rest assured that Teresa Earnhardt and DEI will not let the trademark go without fetching a premium price.

Rumors abound that if DEI were to let the number go, it would be for a figure with six zeroes on the end.

What would Hendrick Motorsports gain for a million dollar investment to secure a number?

Hendrick and Earnhardt, Jr. would stand to make significantly more money by selecting a new number for the team, producing a completely new color scheme, and developing a whole new line of merchandise around Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s new look. Consider the amount of individuals that make up the Earnhardt nation. Then consider that if each one of those individuals purchased one $35-$50 t-shirt (and certainly nobody would buy just one). Then figure in a cap, a flag, a cooler, and a team jacket and you are quickly approaching a $500 investment per individual spawned by a new car number.

Multiply that $500 expenditure times the amount of individuals that comprise the Earnhardt nation, and suddenly Rick Hendrick would look foolish to spend a dime towards buying the No. 8.

The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.