Number a driver's identity but change is imminent

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- In NASCAR, it's all about the numbers.

Or is it?

With Dale Earnhardt Jr. just 13 races from giving up his signature No. 8 ride for a car number to be named later, much of the talk Friday around the Nextel Cup garage at Bristol Motor Speedway was about not what's in a name but what's in a number.

Junior out of the 8

DEI and Hendrick were unable to come to an agreement for the rights to the No. 8 meaning Dale Earnhardt Jr. will race in 2008 in a new number.

• Complete story, click here
• Junior: Teresa wants control

Answers to the question were varied.

After watching driver Kurt Busch motor the No. 2 Dodge of Penske Racing to victory last Tuesday in the rain-delayed 3M Performance 400 at Michigan International Speedway, Rusty Wallace, the legendary former driver of the No. 2, dropped a phone call to his successor.

"That looked like me out there driving the car," Busch said Wallace told him.

Wallace said he later took a phone call from team owner Roger Penske, pretty much saying the same thing.

That's good and bad. When Busch took over for the retiring Wallace after the 2006 season, he took some heat from fans loyal to Wallace who weren't necessarily Kurt Busch fans. Some of those fans are still hot over the switch in drivers, a point that Wallace confirmed Friday.

"I think there is a lot in the number. I think when people keep looking at that number, they keep thinking of Rusty Wallace in that particular number," Wallace said. "I almost wish Kurt and Roger would have stylized their own No. 2 and let it be their own identity -- because, yeah, unfortunately everyone keeps comparing Kurt to me.

"Looking back at it, if we ever made a strategic mistake, it was that we should have taken that stylized No. 2 and that would have been what Rusty ran forever -- and let Kurt have his own design. Just change the way it looked."

Wallace said that Fred Wagenhals, founder of Action Racing Collectibles, even suggested precisely that to give both the retiring Wallace and Busch their own identities in what, in fact, is the same racecar. Of course that should, in theory, have helped fuel separate sales of No. 2 die-cast cars and other racing souvenirs -- which really is what is at the heart of the matter when it comes to Earnhardt getting out of the No. 8.

Earnhardt said he had hoped to keep the No. 8 next season, despite making the switch from driving for Dale Earnhardt Inc. to Hendrick Motorsports. But last week negotiations between DEI and Hendrick over the No. 8 finally broke down for good, and it was announced DEI owner Teresa Earnhardt, the stepmother of Dale Jr., would retain the number.

Now it appears veteran Mark Martin, whose fans were so upset when he left the No. 6 he had driven for Roush Racing for years, is headed for the No. 8 next season. Sources say that DEI plans to run Martin and Cup rookie Aric Almirola in the car, splitting the 36-race schedule.

Driver Elliot Sadler said all the number changes will make it hard for the competitors to keep up, let alone the fans.

"You know, I was only in the 38 car for four years and it's still weird to see that number on the side of a different car," said Sadler, who switched to the No. 19 Dodge of Evernham Motorsports after 22 races last season and is in his first full season driving the 19. "You do get affiliated with a number and you kind of feel like it's yours.

"Talking about the Dale Jr. deal, I can't see anyone else driving the No. 8 car but him just because that is all he's had in his lifetime -- being that he's the biggest name and the biggest face in the sport. I'll be honest. I wouldn't want to drive the No. 8 car.

"I just can't see the biggest name in our sport in a different number. I can't see Terry Bradshaw being No. 9 and playing quarterback. It's just certain things you think about. I can't see Michael Jordan being something besides the 23. I'm a sports guy, so I affiliate a lot of guys with a lot of numbers. That's my opinion on it."

Of course, even Jordan wore No. 45 for a while after returning from one of his retirements. But in truth, no one ever really got used to it and he eventually went back to wearing No. 23.

Jimmie Johnson, who hasn't driven anything but the No. 48 Chevrolet at the Cup level, agreed it will be hard to get used to not seeing Earnhardt tooling around in the red No. 8. Earnhardt also will be parting ways with long-time sponsor Budweiser beginning next season.

"I haven't had to think about driving another number," Johnson said. "But going back to Junior, it would be difficult to leave that number behind. The paint color or the number, I'm not sure what would be the most identifiable trademark to a driver, but I think the number is probably No. 1.

"So it would be tough to leave that. But I know that with some guys that I've talked to in the past who have changed numbers, it's also a way to start over. There's a history with a certain number, and then there's an opportunity to start over with a new one. And I think with Junior and his fan base and how loyal they are, it's a good opportunity to start over."

Well, not for all of them, Johnson admitted.

"It's going to slight some of them, no doubt about it -- especially the people with the 8 tattoos," Johnson said. "I'm sure they'll not really like this ... but I really think coming to a new team like Junior is, it's a good opportunity for him to start over, re-identify himself and be at Hendrick instead of being a carryover from another operation."

Kyle Busch, who is leaving the No. 5 Chevrolet he's currently running behind at Hendrick as he makes the move to Joe Gibbs Racing next season, said it's foolish for drivers to get too attached to a number. The numbers, he said, have always belonged to the owners of the cars.

"A number is a number," said Kyle, Kurt's younger brother. "I come into this deal and have been driving the 5 car, which is Rick Hendrick's number -- it's been that way since the beginning [of the Hendrick operation]. The 8 has just been a part of the Earnhardt family, with Ralph [Earnhardt, the grandfather of Dale Jr.] driving it years ago and then I think Dale had it a little bit in his Busch Series career, and of course, Junior stepped into that Cup ride and has had it since then.

"It's just a part of who wants it worse or whatever -- but Teresa's got it, so it's hers. It's really not that big of a deal -- slap an 81 on the thing [Earnhardt Jr.'s Hendrick car] and be happy and go."

Carl Edwards, who has never driven anything but the No. 99 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing, said all the fuss over the number switches will die down in time. But he admitted that it likely will take some time for that to occur.

"It just gets down to [the fact that] people get used to certain things," Edwards said. "You build a brand around certain numbers and sponsors and drivers. I think it's always a shock when something changes.

"I personally have never really thought about driving a car other than the 99 since I've been in it -- but I think with anything, after people get used to a change, it's OK. It took me a long time to get used to saying Nextel Cup Series, but now it sounds normal. I think people can get used to any change, but, yeah, you do get used to certain things and it's a bit of a shock when they change."

Wallace and Kurt Busch are still discovering that. But Wallace said Earnhardt's situation with the No. 8 car is not the same as what has gone on with the No. 2.

"I think that's all different," Wallace said. "The 2 car has always been blue and it's always been the same 2. And now it's a different driver and people are still having a hard time getting used to it. [Busch] is a damn good driver, and I think he deserves his own stylized No. 2."

Busch said he appreciated Wallace's support for the No. 2 after two victories in the last three races.

"He was real proud to see the car doing that well -- not just for Penske or myself -- but because he has a lot of heart and soul in that car as well," Busch said. "It's great to have everything come full circle."