Fansided

Mountain Dew continues its celebration of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s career with new commercial

By Derek Helling

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (right) is shown with his fictional replacement for the No. 88 car, Dewey Ryder, depicted by actor Danny McBride. Photo courtesy of Golin.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (right) is shown with his fictional replacement for the No. 88 car, Dewey Ryder, depicted by actor Danny McBride. Photo courtesy of Golin. /
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The sponsor of the No. 88 car, Mountain Dew, is continuing to make the end of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s NASCAR career memorable.

As Dale Earnhardt Jr. participates in his last Martinsville race on Sunday, Oct. 29, Mountain Dew will take its send-off of the legendary racer in a comedic direction with a new television commercial.

Set to air during the race and during Game 5 of the World Series, the spot depicts Earnhardt chatting with his fictional replacement driver, talking about his career and the passing of the torch.

In the commercial, Danny McBride plays the part of Dewey Ryder, who will take over operation of the No. 88 car.

“Dewey has no racing experience. No training behind the wheel. And, we have no idea how this is going to work out,” said Chauncey Hamlett, Senior Director of Marketing for Mountain Dew. “We’ll definitely miss seeing Dale Jr. behind the wheel as he starts his retirement, as he is an incredible partner to the brand. Dewey Ryder brings something we’ve never seen before, from the way he holds a bottle of Dew to his bold, fun and boundary-pushing style.”

This spot comes just a week after Mountain Dew began its celebratory send-off of Earnhardt. For his final Talladega race, Mountain Dew gave the No. 88 car a special paint job and decal renditions, produced limited-edition cans, and created another TV commercial that aired during the Talladega race.

Over the course of the time that Earnhardt has operated the No. 88 car with Mountain Dew as a sponsor, he has always been ranked as the most popular driver in NASCAR. It’s that kind of consistency that Mountain Dew is celebrating with this continued campaign.

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As Earnhardt continues the final lap of his storied career, Mountain Dew will also continue to celebrate the tremendous brand exposure that he has brought to the beverage company. For NASCAR fans, that partnership means more entertaining content like the Earnhardt-McBride commercial.

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