Dale Earnhardt Jr. voices NASCAR's 75th anniversary TV commercial

On3 imageby:Nick Geddes05/28/23

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Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

The second installment of NASCAR’s 75th anniversary creative campaign will launch this weekend as the sport looks to celebrate its present. It features a new 30-second commercial narrated by Hall of Fame driver and member of the 75 Greatest Drivers list, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

The spot, titled “Roads,” will debut during FOX‘s telecast of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway Sunday. “Roads” shows Earnhardt Jr. reflecting on his personal journey while driving around in the anniversary-themed No. 75 car.

“NASCAR’s growth is really important to me,” Earnhardt Jr. said, via NASCAR.com. “And it’s great to see the sport expanding with so many talented racers from different areas and walks of life as the sport continues to evolve. It was an honor to be included in this campaign to help celebrate where NASCAR has been and where it’s going as part of the 75th anniversary.”

As well as Earnhardt Jr.’s journey, several other stars of today are featured in the commercial. Those include 2020 Cup Series champion Chase Elliott, 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace and Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suárez.

“The current generation of NASCAR stars are carrying on the enormous legacy of the legendary figures who helped build NASCAR,” said Pete Jung, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at NASCAR. “This creative execution is a testament to the pursuit of excellence that defines NASCAR and the resilience of our tenacious competitors.

“We’re grateful to Dale for his enthusiasm in helping deliver this message. And to our incredible creative partners at 77 and Boomshot for bringing it to life with such authenticity.”

“Roads” will run throughout the summer leading up to the third and final installment of the 75th anniversary campaign, which launched prior to the start of the playoffs on Sunday, Sept. 3 at Darlington Raceway.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. rips ‘obnoxious’ NASCAR fans treatment of Bubba Wallace

Earnhardt Jr. didn’t appreciate the treatment of Bubba Wallace from fans in attendance during the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on May 14.

Earnhardt Jr. described the scene as driver introductions took place, with members of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers list on hand. Each driver came out and shook the hands of the legends lined up. During Wallace’s introduction, however, one “obnoxious” person made it known he was no fan of the 29-year-old. That person caught the ire of Earnhardt Jr.

“I was at Darlington a couple weeks ago,” Earnhardt Jr. recently said on ‘The Dale Jr. Download,’ via Fox News. “We’re on this stage, and it’s the 75 greatest drivers all lined up. Outside of me, these are the greatest drivers that have been involved in the sport. All distinguished, of varying ages, everybody’s there to have this great experience. And the drivers are being introduced and walking by us, shaking our hand one after the other… It’s this moment where everybody, you would think that it would be a moment where you’d behave.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. sticks up for Bubba Wallace

“And there’s this one guy at the rail, the rail of the fans that are down on the front straightaway, there’s one guy at the rail. Everybody for the most part is just cheering. There’s a couple, you know they give a couple people a hard time, Denny [Hamlin] and all that. A smattering of boos. Nothing crazy.

“But Bubba gets introduced and walks across the stage and there’s this guy right in front of me and Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth and everyone else there, screaming at the top of his lungs, ‘Go home! Go home! Go home!’ over and over, as loud as he could.

“And it was so obnoxious. I really wanted to jump down there and go, ‘Hey, could you stop? Is this really what you want to do right in this moment? Is this how you want to behave right now in front of all these incredible people that you’re standing in front of? Richard Petty and all these legends, you’re going to be acting this way?’

“And I thought man, that’s one day in Bubba’s life. And I was thinking, I know there’s people out there who have hated Kyle Busch and hated other drivers… They probably have said some nasty things. But it just made me really disappointed…

“I will tell you man, Bubba Wallace puts up with more s— than anybody deserves.”