15 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Fire Suits
by Tom Jensen May 31, 2024
Over his NASCAR Hall of Fame career, Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a lot of great looking fire suits.
In NASCAR, driver fire suits are basically rolling billboards, designed to showcase the products and services that sponsors provide.
Back in the day it was common for drivers to wear white fire suits with their name embroidered in contrasting colored thread and maybe a couple of sponsor patches sewn on the upper chest.
As with most elements of marketing in NASCAR, today’s approach is considerably more sophisticated, with driver fire suits custom designed to prominently highlight sponsors who often change on a weekly basis. Bright colors, large logos and intricate designs showcase the companies who are providing the financial muscle to their race teams.
With that in mind, this week’s edition of Curators’ Corner features 15 fire suits from 15-time NASCAR Most Popular Driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., a member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2021.
Photo courtesy of NASCAR Archives & Research Center via Getty Images
Late 1990s: Prior to moving to the Cup Series full time in 2000, Dale Earnhardt Jr. won championships in the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series (now Xfinity Series) in 1998-99.
Photo courtesy of NASCAR Archives & Research Center via Getty Images
2001: In the 2001 Rolex 24 at Daytona, Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr. wore matching GM Goodwrench Service Plus fire suits when they raced their Corvette.
Photo courtesy of NASCAR Archives & Research Center via Getty Images
2001: In his first return to Daytona International Speedway after his father’s death in the 2001 Daytona 500, Dale Earnhardt Jr. raised the trophy over his head wearing his signature Bud branded fire suit in victory lane after winning the Pepsi 400 NASCAR Cup Series race.
Photo courtesy of NASCAR Archives & Research Center via Getty Images
2003: Starting from the pole in his Chevrolet, Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Winn-Dixie 250 NASCAR Busch Series (now Xfinity Series) race at Daytona International Speedway, where he had also won the Koolerz 300 Busch Series race earlier that year.
Photo courtesy of NASCAR Archives & Research Center via Getty Images
2007: Late in the season, after it was announced that he would be moving to Hendrick Motorsports in 2008, Dale Earnhardt Jr. tested one of the team’s Chevrolets at Atlanta Motor Speedway wearing the adidas brand under the watchful eye of team owner Rick Hendrick.
Photo courtesy of Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR
2007: The iconic bright red Budweiser fire suit was a staple look for Dale Earnhardt Jr. when he drove in the Cup Series for Dale Earnhardt Inc. from 2000 to 2007.
Photo by courtesy of Marc Serota/Getty Images for NASCAR
2007: When he competed at Richmond Raceway in September 2007, Dale Earnhardt Jr. carried the colors of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, the late Elvis Presley.
Photo courtesy of Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
2008: In his first year with Hendrick Motorsports, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was sporting Mountain Dew colors when he competed in the Dodge Challenger 500 at Darlington Raceway.
Photo courtesy of Christian Petersen/Getty Images for NASCAR
2008: Amp Energy Drink and the National Guard were Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s two main sponsors in his first season driving for Hendrick Motorsports.
Photo courtesy of Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR
2010: At Michigan International Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s fire suit was a unique take on the traditional National Guard colors.
Photo courtesy of Geoff Burke/Getty Images for Mountain Dew
2012: Carrying a paint scheme showcasing the film “The Dark Night Rises,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Quicken Loans 400 Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway.
Photo courtesy of Patrick Smith/Getty Images
2014: Some of the biggest victories of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s career came at Daytona International Speedway, where in 2014, he won the Daytona 500 for a second time wearing a red and white United States National Guard-sponsored fire suit.
Photo courtesy of Chris Trotman/NASCAR via Getty Images
2015: Another interesting promotion for Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the HALO 5 Guardians video game, which he hyped at the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.
Photo courtesy of Robert Laberge/Getty Images
2016: Once again donning a Batman fire suit, Dale Earnhardt Jr. competed in the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Southern California.
Photo courtesy of Sean Gardner/Getty Images
2019: Making a rare post-retirement start in a NASCAR Xfinity Series car at Darlington Raceway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. represented Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise, a longtime sponsor of JR Motorsports, the team Earnhardt co-owns with sister Kelley Earnhardt Miller and Rick Hendrick.
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