Car number and sponsor / owner connections

Friend of mine and I were trading email about a couple of historical cars. One thing led to another, and an idea for a discussion thread emerged. With it being off-season, I'm hoping this could go for at least a few days.

How about some photos of car numbers influenced by the team's sponsor and/or owner? I'll start with a handful and then everyone else take it from there. The more obscure the better!

We ought to be able to keep this going a while, right?

45 -Rich Bickle - Sponsor 10-10-345 Long Distance

30 - Michael Waltrip - Domino's Pizza - 30 minute delivery guarantee

94 - Terry Labonte (and Sterling Marlin) - Sunoco - 94 octane gasoline (photo from Ray Lamm's collection )

7 - Kyle Petty - 7-Eleven (from Richard Guido's collection )

Have to ask our own RR member Jimmy Johnson if it was just a coincidence when Jeff Finley carried QuicShine 99 sponsorship on his #99 ARCA ride.

You just had to go and make me hungry thinking about those Bojangles seasoned fries!

Chuck Rider ran #23 with Michael Waltrip in 1986 with Hawaiian Punch sponsorship. Chuck purposely changed the car number to #30 for Domino's at the beginning of 1987. He thought he'd have the deal put together with Domino's for the 1987 Daytona 500, but didn't get it finalized in time and ran that race carrying sponsorship on the car from partial partner Dick Bahre's (the "Bah" in Bahari) Oxford Plains Speedway. Domino's was on the car for the next race Bahari ran at Rockingham.

Domino's was first. Bahari / Mikey ran #23 and Hawaiian Punch. When they got Domino's, the number was updated to 30 to coincide with their ill-fated 30-minute delivery guarantee. Domino's didn't stay long as a sponsor, but Bahari kept 30 when Country Time signed on and later Pennzoil.

That's my story, and ah'm a'stickin to it.

Glad you recalled this one. In my mind, I was trying to put Cale and 98 together - but it was with RCA / John Andretti. And I knew that wasn't right. The Bojangles 98 cents promotion is on the mark - and that spicy chicken biscuit remains my favorite fast food breakfast item. *stomach rumble*

Great minds think alike - they just post 2 minutes apart. LOL

13 - Jerry Nadeau - colors were nod to Miami Dolphins and number was for co-owner Dan Marino's jersey number

Well, some young newcomers to RR may fall for that "Defenseless" B.S., but not Chase & Dave!

You got that right. I've seen too many of PKL's responses to attend that pity party. LOL

Sounds like there is a story there. Should I,as a newcomer, consider that a warning?

In 1998, NASCAR (and International Speedway Corp.) Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Jim Foster, put together a fairly unusual deal to put his grandson Jimmy Foster in a Busch Series ride.

With Ford involved, a scheme was concocted to have NFL star, Joe Washington and ABA/NBA star, Julius Erving (Dr. J) front what was billed as a minority ownership group with veteran Darrell Bryant as crew chief to celebrate the 50th anniversary of baseball star Jackie Robinson's entry into major league baseball as well as the 50th Anniversary of NASCAR.

The car, sponsored by DR Pepper, of course would carry the #50. Jimmy didn't do too well, missing the field at Daytona, Rockingham, Darlington and Myrtle Beach and was replaced halfway through the season.

Here's an excerpt from DR Pepper's announcement as carried in 1998 by PR Newswire:

In a separate announcement today, Dr Pepper Company revealed it has become the primary sponsor of the Washington Erving Motorsports' Ford Taurus stock car that will race on NASCAR's Busch Grand National circuit in 1998. The agreement between Dr Pepper and Washington Erving Motorsports marks the first time the soft drink brand has sponsored a race car, and provides financial support for the first minority-owned NASCAR race team to compete full-time on the circuit in more than 25 years.

The car will prominently display the Dr Pepper name and maroon and white colors, and will carry the number "50" to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson entering major league baseball (1947/1997), and to celebrate NASCAR's 50th anniversary (1948/1998). Washington Erving Motorsports is owned by former National Basketball Association (NBA) star Julius "Dr J" Erving, National Football League (NFL) star Joe Washington, in addition to North Carolina businesspersons Kathy Thompson and Fields Jackson, Jr., and Philadelphia businessperson Asa Murray. The Dr Pepper Company-sponsored Taurus will debut in February at Daytona Beach, Fla., during Speedweeks,'98, driven by 20-year-old Jimmy Foster.

Just be on your toes and get ready to rope-a-dope and use fancy footwork if you should happen to disagree!

Well, I'm not sure what all that means. But, nice to meet you, too.

Pkl- You (being the excellent & OUTSTANDING proofreader I know you to be) are hereby challenged to show me where Chase limited his discussion to Cup cars!

You'll be fine here so long as you drive your "No Fear" car and speak your mind!

Lol. no fear here. Please tell the fine Lady that I am not necessarily a friend of Gilder. Never met him.

"SO"

While I didn't limit the discussion to ANY series, I'll bridge the gap between Busch and Cup with the set-up by Dave Fulton and NASCAR's 50th anniversary in 1998.

For the 98 season, Hendrick changed its long-standing number of the 25 team to 50 to commemorate NASCAR's 50th anniversary. The car was raced by committee: Ricky Craven, Randy LaJoie and Wally Dallenbach Jr.

While the use of the number was tied to the sanctioning body, most assuredly the sponsor was OK with the swap for that year. Having 3 different drivers behind the wheel that season? Ehh, probably not.

You can call me Jack. But my drama sensors are intermittantly blinking here. Should they? Nah, doesn't seem that kind of place.

I don't guess poor Ed Negre could fit his sponsor on the door panel as his car number! This photo was taken in Chase's neck of the woods!

That's funny!

Thought of 3 more...

93 - Dave Blaney - Amoco Ultimate 93 octane

2 - Bobby Allison - CAM2 Penske Mercury (though Bobby ran 2 many times before)

(from J.C. Hayes collection )

22 - Stan Barrett - original Skoal Bandit with number matching co-owner Burt Reynold's jersey number in his movie The Longest Yard (from Jerry Bushmire's collection )

Yes, I believe that's the Figure 8 tr ... I mean, the quarter-mi ... wait, PIT ROAD at Nashville's fairgrounds speedway.

While Ed's car didn't have room for a 5 digit number based on his sponsor, Tim Flock had room on his car for a 3 digit one as it related to his car owner's Mercury Outboard Motors product line. (from Harvey Tollison's collection )

This one was right under my nose. Happened just this year in the summer Daytona race, and I'd just about forgotten about it.

50 - Bill Elliott - Wal-Mart's 50th Anniversary

Well, I just learned something on this one.... never heard of the #22 matching the jersey #.

That was my all-time football hero, the world's greatest middle linebacker ever anywhere anytime, Ray Nitschke of Coach Vince Lombardi's winning Super Bowl I and Super Bowl II Green Bay Packers taking one (2) for the gurards' team!

How could we forget Clint Bowyer with Jack Daniel's old number 07 ??

Yep. Good one. And Dave Blaney before him.

Source: www.zeilersmarket.com/pictures.html

I've been sitting on this one for a few days to see if others would post it. Because no one has, I'll add it now. Bobby Allison ran a #49 Ford Mustang Grand American in 1971 in a couple of events where the GA cars were allowed to compete with the GN ones. He won in the car at Bowman-Gray in the Myers Brothers 250 - the race from the oft-told story where NASCAR didn't recognize him as the winner of a GN race. Didn't then - and hasn't today.

The car was owned by Melvin Joseph - who also designed and built Dover's speedway. Number 49 was his declared lucky number for reasons outlined here: www.melvinjoseph.com/component/content/article/39-what-is-49.html

I actually didn't know this trivia until several days ago. I had wondered about it and finally e-mailed Bobby's daughter, Bonnie about it. She was kind enough to point me to this a-ha! moment.

From J.C. Hayes Collection

From Kevin Andrews Collection

66 - Darrell Waltrip - Kmart's Route 66 clothing line

I keep thinking I'm missing one. The number had to do with how manyingredientswas in the product. For example, if they would've had a car, Dr. Pepper might have ran number 23, for it's 23 ingredients. I just can't think what it is though.

Good one, Cody... and the Chase followup.

Darned, PK... I was part of placing that deal together, originally as a test program with Morgan Shepherd and then as a deal with Hut Stricklin and Rod Osterlund. I did the press conference in Talladega with the giant robot ketchup bottle roling around the Winston Cup Garage talking to drivers.

I made the presentation in Pittsburgh to the Heinz Marketing Department to secure them coming into NASCAR and there was a huge thunderstorm that knocked out the power at the airport Marriott where I was staying. Showered, shaved and dressed in the dark before going to corporate headquarters for my presentation.

Talk about brain fade!

And, Dr Pepper always used the numbers 10-2-4 in its advertising as the perfect times to drink a Dr Pepper!

Cale didn't get the Wood Brothers to change from #21 to #60 for the 60 Minute Cleaners sponsorship, but Cale did get a franchise.

Just like us!

Hmmmmmm... somebody forgot to tell Sam and The Captain to drop the 1 !

I believe that to be a Nationwide car at Chicago.

If television shows in the early 60s had been into sponsoring NASCAR vehicles, Jimmy Pardue would have had it made. Fred Gwynn, who later went on to to fame as Herman Munster, at the time Pardue was driving his Ford #54 was starring in the hit television series "Car 54, Where Are You?"

Pardue added the word "Car" beside the top left of his #54 door number and the phrase, "Here I Am" beside the bottom right of the door number.

Where does Marty Robbins' #777 Devil Woman Modified fit in this thread?

While A.J. Reno wasn't sponsored by Union 76 in the 1975 Talladega 500 where he finished 21 or at Charlotte in the fall of 1975 where he DNQ'd, his number style certainly looks like it was influenced by the logo of the one-time Official Fuel Supplier of NASCAR.

From Randy Murphy Collection

In looking up Reno's records, I learned this Dawsonville Driver made only one other WCGN career start - in the 1974 Talladega 500 in a #09 car owned by none other than George Elliott. Which then made me realize one of the most obvious owner-influenced numbers from the early-80s through the early 90s.

9 - Bill Elliott - Highway 9 that ran through Dawsonville, GA

From Brian Higgins collection

Another fine thread...

My contribution is from way before most of these photos - probably 1964 or 1965. Local car sponsored by the soft drink company, 7 Up. This is an old flat-head Sportsman at the Holy Grail of Dirt Tracks - Eldora. From what I have listed in my records the driver name was Kreitz, and I believe the first name was Donnie. This car actually sat on the curb in front of either the driver's or owners house in a little village named Covington, in Ohio. (Where my Cousins lived). I believe the 7 Up distributor was in Troy Ohio.

If anyone can confirm this data please let me know. Anyway, enjoy.....

Awesome! Glad to see a 7-Up tie-in. Such an obvious number/product combo. I remember seeing 7-Up on Pete Hamilton's Superbird - but it obviously wasn't number 7.

Don't think it has anything to do with the brand MGD 64, but...

Even though he was already using this number, it just happened to work out....

And just a thought......wouldn't it be nice if Clint Bowyer was driving the #5 - 5 Hour Energy???? But unless he one day drives for Hendrick, he'll never, ever give up old #5.