Getty Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon chat before a Dover race.
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Nashville on Sunday, June 20, for the Ally 400. The title sponsor is celebrating the trip by letting two NASCAR legends face off in a paint scheme contest. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon each came up with a custom design for Alex Bowman’s No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro, and now fans can have the final say.
Former NFL safety Bernard Pollard set up the Twitter contest on Friday with a special sitdown featuring the two NASCAR legends. Earnhardt and Gordon provided some information about their respective designs but spent most of the time talking about how they wanted to win the contest and have bragging rights for the future. Pollard then unveiled the designs and told the fans to go vote.
.@Crushboy31 is here with the #Ally400 paint schemes for @NashvilleSuperS! 🔥🔥
Watch to the end. 👀 Settle the debate between @DaleJr and @JeffGordonWeb by voting for #Ally48NeonLights or #Ally48MusicRow.
According to the renderings in the video, one of the designs was fairly subtle while the other embraced the neon colors of the Ally logo. The first started with a pink front and then transitioned to purple toward the back of the car. The doors had white numbers while the roof had pink numbers.
The second design, on the other hand, also featured the pink and purple colors, albeit in a very different way. The color scheme also heavily incorporated the neon blue/green color to make the design even brighter as it races around Nashville Superspeedway.
The NASCAR Legends Did Not Reveal Their Designs
GettyJeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. chat before a Watkins Glen race.
When the Twitter contest went live, there were many guesses about which former driver created which scheme. The video did not provide the details, nor did the designers. Earnhardt and Gordon mostly just asked the fans for their theories about the designs.
Interestingly enough, the 15-time Most Popular Driver did accidentally provide some hints on Twitter Friday afternoon. He went through and liked a multitude of tweets in favor of the Neon Lights paint scheme. The fans saw this Twitter activity and quickly surmised that Earnhardt was the man behind the very bright and colorful scheme.
Gordon, on the other hand, did not tip his hand on social media. He only liked the tweets noting that contest was live and that the fans could take part. Gordon remained “Twitter silent” while Earnhardt went on a liking spree. Bowman remained similarly quiet, only saying that he would be willing to drive either paint scheme during the Nashville race.
The Two NASCAR Legends Have a Long History Together
GettyJeff Gordon and Alex Bowman chat before the Brickyard 400.
Earnhardt and Gordon may be competing now, but they were once teammates. Both men raced for Hendrick Motorsports and tested their skills against each other on a weekly basis. They competed on the track but also shared a common goal of bringing another championship to HMS. Gordon achieved this goal four times in his career.
Bowman has his own ties to the duo given that he first joined HMS on a part-time basis in 2016. He shared starts with Gordon in the No. 88 Chevrolet during the back half of the season while helping replace an injured Earnhardt. He then joined the team on a full-time basis in 2018 after Earnhardt retired from the Cup Series.
Bowman continued driving the No. 88 for three years (2018-2020) until another NASCAR legend retired. Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson walked away from competition to pursue an IndyCar career after the 2020 season, leaving an empty seat in the No. 48 Ally Racing Chevrolet Camaro.
Bowman took over Johnson’s old car and won a career-high two races in the first 13 weeks of the 2021 season. He drove the No. 48 back to Victory Lane at Richmond, marking the first HMS win at the track since 2008. He then took the checkered flag at Dover International Speedway. Now he will prepare for the back of the regular season, which includes the trip to Nashville and the debut of his new paint scheme.
READ NEXT: Kevin Harvick Prepares for the ‘Roller Coaster’ Experience in Austin [EXCLUSIVE]