"Getting in trouble": Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s 'high school' fanbase suffer problems amid iconic Budweiser return

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s return in the #8 Budweiser Chevrolet stirred up mixed emotions among fans. A former crew member from the original #8 team shared insights into the choice behind bringing back the Budweiser livery, noting its sentimental value, iconic status within NASCAR, and its effect on the young Dale Jr. fans.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. began his NASCAR journey, following his legendary father Dale Earnhardt Sr., debuting in the Busch Series (now Xfinity) in 1996. He bagged back-to-back Xfinity Series championships in 1998 and 1999. Across NASCAR’s top two divisions, he amassed 50 wins, though he never clinched a Cup Series title, unlike his father’s seven.

In a recent episode of Dale Earhardt Jr.'s Dirty Mo Media podcast, Jade Gurss, a member of Dale Jr.'s #8 Budweiser crew, and also the co-author of two New York Times best-selling books, spoke about the intentions behind the return of the #8 Bud. When asked about the "kids getting in trouble" due to their Budweiser t-shirts, he replied:

"A lot of that was Budweiser's research. By the time someone reached 30 years of age, they had decided on their beer. They were going to drink that beer the rest of their lives."

"So the goal was to find young men 25 to 30. We wanted them to start drinking Budweiser and to stay with that the rest of their lives. So the goal was to portray Dale Jr. in a way that was completely honest and legitimate. We wanted him to be a guy that the guys would want to go have a beer with. So again, it was just all these elements just blending together perfectly. If you had a driver that wasn't genuine like Dale Jr. was, it wouldn't have worked," Gurss added.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will return behind the #8 Budweiser Chevrolet wheel in the Late Model Stock Car Races 2024 and 2025, driving for his team, JR Motorsports.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. shares 'the hard part to come to terms with' about Joey Logano's Las Vegas win

Team Penske driver Joey Logano secured his spot in the Championship 4 after winning the Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Recently, Earnhardt Jr. spoke about Logano's win, and how his fellow competitors might perceive it.

Logano had initially missed out on the playoffs as HMS driver Alex Bowman was above him on points. However, after failing a post-race inspection, Bowman was replaced by the Penske driver, who now has a championship seat. In a recent episode of the Dale Jr. Download podcast, Junior said:

"Joey Logano wins on strategy, I don't say it's a debate but there's two kinds of people in the NASCAR world, there's the ones that think Joey is just doing Joey things."

"The only part that I can’t get over is – he wasn’t in until the #48 got penalized. And then he gets in through that penalty, and then he goes and wins. I mean, when the checkered flag fell at the Roval, him winning this race would have mattered none. But now, he’s going to race for a championship. That, to me, is the hard part to come to terms with," Earnhardt Jr. said.

Along with Logano, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell and William Byron look forward to reserving their spot for the final 4.