NASCAR: Without Red, Dale Earnhardt Jr. May Not Be as Popular

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s and Budweiser's announcement that Jr. won't be driving the Number 8 Budweiser car once Jr. joins Hendrick Motorsports was not only understandable but understated. The change could have longer lasting effects than most initial observations may have led NASCAR fans to believe.

For the true NASCAR fan, the Number 8 Budweiser red car is no more famous than Jeff Gordon's DuPont machine or Jimmie Johnson's blue Lowe's ride. That's not true for those NASCAR fans whose first exposure to the sport came courtesy of the Ricky Bobby bio-pic, Talladega Nights. For those fans, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the only NASCAR driver they recognize due to his famous name and his short-lived guest appearance in the movie where he understandably asked for Ricky Bobby's signature.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a superstar, but there is one benefit that has added to his superstar image that, if changed, may take some of the superstar good luck away from him. Believe it or not, that benefit is the color red.

The significance of color association in sports has rarely been discussed. For one, it appears ridiculous. It shouldn't matter if the New Orleans Saints wear pink and green instead of black and gold. Or, the Los Angeles Lakers wear orange and purple instead of gold and dark purple.

But, it does matter and it matters for a good reason. The ancient Chinese art of Feng Shui uses colors to bring good luck to its believers. From an American point-of-view, the products we buy depend quite a bit on the packaging of the product. The package depends on the text and coloring of both the words and the box.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., if anything, is a package. He's an extension of the Number 8 Budweiser car just as Jeff Gordon is an extension of the Number 24 DuPont car. The entire package is Dale Earnhardt Jr. driving Number 8 Budweiser and Jeff Gordon driving Number 24 DuPont. Dale Earnhardt Jr. himself is not the entire package. He's an image and images depend on what they are comprised of.

As any advertiser knows, change anything about the package and you risk hurting your fan base. This can definitely be the case with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Red is a powerful color. The red-nosed American Staffordshire is a tremendous creature whom all dog lovers recognize by simply looking at it. Red-haired women have a reputation that unfairly precedes them. Feng Shui believers consider red to be the color of future wealth.

Without the color red associated with him, will Dale Earnhardt Jr. be as popular? Only the future will tell. Hendrick Motorsports should take heed, though, and put Jr. in a red colored car. Just in case.