Dale Earnhardt Jr. to drive gold car at Bristol Motor Speedway

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s paint scheme for the Aug. 27 Sprint Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway
was unveiled Tuesday at his bar Whisky River in Charlotte, N.C.
Credit: Bristol Motor Speedway's Facebook page

Bristol Motor Speedway is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary, and NASCAR’s most popular driver wants to help celebrate during the Irwin Tools Night Race on Aug. 27.

On Tuesday, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Bristol Motor Speedway announced that driver 88 will be behind the wheel of a golden Amp Energy/National Guard car with the Bristol Motor Speedway anniversary logo.

Earnhardt Jr. is no stranger to the World’s Fastest Half-Mile. He grew up watching his father win nine times at the track and he even swept the weekend events in August 2004. He is looking forward to helping Bristol celebrate this milestone.

“I just love that race track,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “Every time I go there I feel like I can win. There’s no other place like Bristol - I’m always amazed that somebody hasn’t tried to build another one - not that you could. I can’t wait to get back there in a couple of weeks. This car is going to look so cool under the lights.”

Jerry Caldwell, executive vice president and general manager of Bristol Motor Speedway, is excited and thinks this is the perfect tribute to the track on its 50th anniversary.

Caldwell said on Tuesday, “It is a very big weekend for us, and for NASCAR, because we’ll have one of the largest crowds of the year here for the IRWIN Tools Night Race. And we’re extremely honored that Dale Jr. and the folks at Amp wanted to be part of our 50th anniversary celebration in such a significant manner.”

Bristol Motor Speedway will kick off the track weekend on Aug. 24 with a doubleheader that features the Camping World Truck Series and the Whelen Modified Series. The NASCAR Nationwide Series race will take to the track on Friday night, Aug. 26.