Go Daddy's sponsorship of
Dale Earnardt, Jr. and
Hendrick Motorsports began in late 2007, when the world's largest domain registrar
announced its support for the 2008 NASCAR season. Fresh from a successful year of
Indy Racing League sponsorship, Go Daddy decided to increase its involvement in
professional racing with a NASCAR sponsorship.
"NASCAR racing is as grassroots American as it gets," noted
Go Daddy CEO
Bob Parsons. "It's fast, fun and a natural fit for Go Daddy."
In 2008, Go Daddy served as the primary sponsor for the No. 5 NASCAR Nationwide
Series Chevrolets for six events featuring
Dale Jr.,
Mark Martin and Ron Fellows. The domain giant also served as an associate-level
partner for the No. 5 cars throughout the 2008 season and as the presenting sponsor
for the NASCAR Nationwide Series race in Bristol, TN.
As part of the sponsorship deal, NASCAR's most popular driver designed a
Go Daddy sponsored NASCAR car himself. "We're looking forward
to a great run in the No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet," Dale Jr. commented right before
the first race in April 2008. The Dale-designed car crossed the finish line first
in the August 2008 race at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, with Dale's teammate
Canadian Ron Fellows behind the wheel.
Representing the third generation in a family of NASCAR legends, Dale Jr. has lost
no time building his own legacy. He is ranked 39th on NASCAR's all-time race winners
list, with a total of 17 career victories to date. He's won NASCAR's Most Popular
Driver award five consecutive times - an honor he shares with only with Richard
Petty and Bill Elliott - and is regularly included on Harris Interactive's annual
list of America's Top 10 Favorite Athletes.
Dale Jr.'s appeal extends far beyond the racetrack. He's appeared in music videos
by Jay-Z, Staind, Sheryl Crow, Three Doors Down, Trace Adkins, O.A.R., the Matthew
Good Band and Nickelback. The NASCAR star has made cameo appearances in the movies
"Talladega Nights" and "Cars," and has been the subject of MTV and VH-1 episodes.
His 2001 book, Driver 8, was on the New York Times best-seller list for 17 weeks.
Amazon.com named it the top-selling sports book of that year.