Before Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the household name for NASCAR, he was a driver for Hendrick Motorsports. Among all the legendary drivers to take on the steering wheel of the No. 88 car, Junior’s grandfather Ralph Earnhardt happened to be the fourth driver to get in the car in 1957 at Martinsville, finishing the race at P13 for Petty Enterprises. While Junior took over as the 17th driver to ever run it from 2008 onwards until his retirement, the last driver behind the famed car was Alex Bowman until 2020, after which it disappeared from the NASCAR scene, until now.

Trackhouse Racing recently acquired their third charter while bringing Shane van Gisbergen into their Cup Series team, and the car he will be driving will be the No. 88. The announcement was made at the Coke Zero Sugar 400 race at the Daytona International Speedway, and Dale Jr. of all people, is extremely excited, for obvious reasons.

Trackhouse Racing owner sought Dale Jr.’s endorsement

After joining HMS in 2008, Dale Jr. was named as the driver for the iconic number 88. Earnhardt stayed with the car until his retirement in 2017. During his stint as the #88 driver, Dale Jr. won nine races including a win at Daytona 500 in 2014. Thus it was no surprise when he was happy to see the number back on track for the next season.

Upon hearing that Trackhouse Racing had acquired the No. 88 car, Dale Jr.’s team of Ask Jr. asked the former NASCAR driver about his thoughts on SVG driving the iconic car. Dale Jr. then went on to talk about the history of the No.88 car and mentioned legendary names like Donnie Allison, Darrell Waltrip, Bobby Allison, Ricky Rudd, and Rusty Wallace, associated with it. He added, “It’s [the No. 88 car] got a lot of great history, and you want it to be out on the racetrack.”

Dale Jr. made it clear that he was happy to have the number come back as he explained how Trackhouse Racing got in touch with him wishing for his support. It was a courtesy call from Trackhouse, as they wanted to know how Dale Jr. felt about his former car number making its way back to the circuits after a 4-year hiatus.

He revealed, “They were super super good about it. They were texting and calling and making sure ‘Hey man I want you to support it’ it’s helpful for us I guess if I support it but  they just were like you know we make sure you’re good with it.”

The former Hendrick Motorsports driver then explained he understood his former team’s decision to not bring the number back after Alex Bowman last drove it in 2020.

“I know why HMS went away from it and I understand that and I appreciate their position and what they chose to do but while you know it puts it on the sideline and that’s sad for me I want the number to be out there competing,” he added. After Bowman’s last race in the 88, the team was rebranded to the 48. This announcement in 2020, meant there was not going to be a number 88, for the first time since 1993.

Hence, Dale was delighted when Trackhouse Racing decided it would reintroduce the iconic number, which has been driven to victory lane 76 times in NASCAR history. During the announcement, Justin Marks, the owner of Trackhouse Racing also revealed that he reached out to Earnhardt Jr. to seek his endorsement.

Talking to the media on August 25, Marks said, “I was texting [Dale Jr.] an hour and a half ago and it’s important for us to have the endorsement. A great exchange with Dale Jr. saying like, ‘Look it’s not my number, I mean, I added to the legacy of it. It was important to me personally but…’ he was proud to see it in good hands.”

Meanwhile, Shane Van Gisbergen also received backing from Dale Jr. who believes the driver had “some real shots at putting it into Victory Lane, which would be cool, so add a chapter to the number’s history.” 

Shane van Gisbergen has been making quite a name for himself after competing in the Super Car series before getting into stock car racing.

Shane van Gisbergen to take on Dale Jr’s former number

Shane van Gisbergen’s promotion to Cup Series isn’t a total surprise given van Gisbergen’s impressive Xfinity season with three wins already in the bag. Plus, Trackhouse Racing had already announced they’d be parting ways with Zane Smith after this season.

Marks explained why they went with van Gisbergen: “He may not have tons of Cup experience yet, and there are some unknowns, but he’s got a compelling story and a lot of talent. He’s incredibly dedicated.” He also touched on how important the No. 88 car is considering its history and the responsibility that comes with it.

In preparation for next season, van Gisbergen is spending this year getting familiar with oval racing, thanks to a loan deal with Kaulig Racing. He has already competed in four Cup Series races this season with plans to race in more.

Marks also hinted that Trackhouse’s Project 91 program, which helped van Gisbergen debut in the Cup and win the 2023 Chicago Street Race, is likely to return soon. Are you excited to see SvG driver the number 88 next season?