When Dale Earnhardt got involved with #40 in Cup years before Dale Jr.’s Daytona 500 announcement

There was a time in the late 1980s when Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet sponsored the No. 40 Cup car, which will return for this year’s Daytona 500 with JR Motorsports driver Justin Allgaier behind the wheel. Recently, Nascarman on X posted a throwback video of Darin Brassfield driving the machine.

Now 64, Brassfield has been a multi-time winner in the IMSA GT Championship. In 1989, the Los Gatos native made select starts in the NASCAR Cup Series (then known as the Winston Cup Series) at tracks like Sears Point, Richmond Raceway, and Watkins Glen International.

Remembering Brassfield’s race at Watkins Glen, Nascarman captioned the video:

“An Earnhardt number 40 in Cup? Darin Brassfield drove #40 car sponsored by Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet in three races in 1989. His best finish was 12th at Watkins Glen.”

Reigning series champion Justin Allgaier, who usually drives the No. 7 full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, will make his Cup Series debut with the iconic car.

However, Allgaier has not been guaranteed a starting spot in the crown jewel race as the No. 40 is not a chartered vehicle yet. This means he will have to qualify well alongside open drivers like Anthony Alfredo, B. J. McLeod, J. J. Yeley, and Helio Castroneves, who will compete under the banners of Beard Motorsports, Live Fast Motorsports, NY Racing, and Trackhouse Racing, respectively.

Other NASCAR drivers to have driven the No. 40 in the past include D. K. Ulrich, Pete Hamilton, Kenny Wallace, Bobby Hamilton, Steve Park, Joe Nemechek (father of NASCAR driver John Hunter Nemechek), and the legendary Sterling Marlin. According to The NASCAR Historian, Marlin has the most starts with the No. 40 (274).

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Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s NASCAR team to join forces with Grammy-winning artist for the 2025 Daytona 500

Justin Allgiaer’s ride will get primary sponsorship from Chris Stapleton and his Traveller Whiskey brand. Stapleton, known for composing six singles on the Hot Country Songs chart, happens to be a friend of Rick Hendrick, the owner of Hendrick Motorsports and one of the co-owners of JR Motorsports alongside Dale Earnhardt Jr., and his sister Kelley Earnhardt Miller.

JR Motorsports announced the same through a recent post on X with the following caption:

“A car as smooth as Tennessee Whiskey."

"If I'm being 100% honest, I just thought it would be cool to see whiskey on a car,” Stapleton said in a statement as quoted by Newsweek. “And he brought up Dale Jr. and I was like 'Why wouldn't we do that if we can?' This is a lot of my audience, for both whiskey and country music,” it added.

The 67th running of the 500-miler is scheduled for February 16. Fans can watch the race on FOX from 2:30 pm ET onwards or listen to live radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.