When it was announced that NASCAR Hall of Famer and zMAX CARS Tour co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. would be running a special throwback scheme honoring his 2001 July Daytona win, feedback was rightfully and overwhelmingly positive.
Three months later, the time has now come for the throwback scheme to race. Earnhardt Jr.’s Budweiser/MLB Speedway Classic Late Model Stock Car is set to compete in this weekend’s upcoming zMAX CARS Tour race at Anderson Motor Speedway.
The original partnership in 2001 between Earnhardt Jr., Budweiser, and Major League Baseball was an astounding testament to the popularity of not just Earnhardt, but NASCAR itself. For similar reasons, this renewed partnership is just as significant in both similar and different ways.
The discipline of short track racing is undoubtedly growing from a popularity standpoint. In a somewhat similar fashion to how NASCAR went through a massive boom in popularity in the early 2000’s, short track racing finds itself in a great place.
Modern streaming platforms make marquee short track races available to watch from home on the weekend and throughout the week. NASCAR stars find themselves venturing in short track exploits on a semi-regular basis. Revered short tracks are being resurrected and given new life. It may not be completely reminiscent of the early-2000’s NASCAR explosion, but it’s undeniable that short track markets are becoming more of an option for big brand partnerships akin to that of Earnhardt and Major League Baseball.
Sure, the throwback sponsorship is in many ways due to the staggering popularity of Earnhardt as an individual, but this partnership still puts eyes on the zMAX CARS Tour and other short track circles.
While the 2001 sponsorship was designed to promote that year’s MLB All-Star Game, this year’s sponsorship helped bring awareness to the MLB Speedway Classic. The Speedway Classic was held earlier this month at Bristol Motor Speedway, with a baseball field put into the track’s infield. The Atlanta Braves defeated the Cincinnati Reds in the game.
The timing of this sponsorship can be viewed as odd. After all, the Speedway Classic itself was held two weeks before the car donning its namesake was even slated to compete. In many ways, the game was an odd, yet interesting, concept in itself. A baseball game held inside of a NASCAR race track is not exactly a typical sight, or something that could’ve been envisioned by many people before the game was announced.
Despite this strange timing and unique conceptual nature of the Speedway Classic itself, one aspect of the partnership is undoubtedly positive: baseball fans are being introduced to American motorsports. The glamour of NASCAR that was displayed at the Speedway Classic is a great thing for motorsports in America, but the connection to Earnhardt and the short track series he represents is so much more valuable.
As someone who attended the Speedway Classic, I can personally attest to the hundreds, if not thousands, of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Budweiser late model shirts that were sold on the premises. A lot of attendees at the game had never been to a NASCAR track, much less an actual NASCAR event or a grassroots short track race. The publicity and attention that the Speedway Classic spectacle could have brought to short track racing is invaluable to this level of motorsports.
The Speedway Classic was about so much more than just a NASCAR/MLB partnership. In fact, it’s about even more than just the residual attention given to short track racing as a result of the event. The Speedway Classic was just one example of merging fanbases from various sects of the sporting world. Baseball fans who traveled to Bristol were introduced to NASCAR in a similar fashion to how local racing fans were introduced to a Major League Baseball environment in their backyard.
This latest sponsorship is just one example of professional baseball partnering with individuals in the grassroots motorsports scene. Look at fellow zMAX CARS Tour competitor Landon Huffman, who has recently had sponsorship support from the Rocket City Trash Pandas, the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. Even off the track, various sports teams have racing-themed promotional nights. These events tend to showcase racing stars and tracks in and around that team’s area, from local racing circles to national NASCAR names.
There’s no question that a long road remains ahead if short track racing is to become equivalent to America’s pastime in terms of national popularity. But capitalizing on the sport’s star power with names like Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a fantastic start.
Here’s to hoping that the significance behind Earnhardt’s throwback scheme this weekend is a good sign for what lies ahead for grassroots racing and all the potential partnerships that may come along away.
Earnhardt and the zMAX CARS Tour return to South Carolina’s Anderson Motor Speedway on Saturday, August 16th. The race will be streamed live on FloRacing.
