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The driver of the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro is about to showcase his inner Intimidator. Tyler Reddick will head to Texas Motor Speedway with a NASCAR scheme channeling Dale Earnhardt’s iconic No. 8 Busch Grand National Series stock car.
RCR previewed the scheme ahead of the trip to Texas, showing the primarily black Chevrolet. The No. 8 features the white numbers with red outline, as well as the silver running along the bottom. Instead of GM Goodwrench, Reddick will work with CC Ready Mix, but the sponsor logos will sit in similar spots as those on Earnhardt’s cars. The scheme is not a perfect recreation of Earnhardt’s No. 8, especially with the black pillars, but the design will certainly turn some heads.
“I’ve only had the butterflies sitting in a racecar two times,” Reddick tweeted on Friday, October 15. “The most recent was sitting in this Texas car. The other time was when I sat in the seat of a seven time NASCAR Champion’s car. I can’t begin to explain how excited I am for the race Sunday.”
The NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway will take place on Sunday, October 17 at 2 p.m. ET. NBC will provide coverage as Reddick battles with his peers over 334 laps. He will start the race on the fifth row, just behind the playoff drivers and next to Roush Fenway Racing’s Chris Buescher.
Earnhardt Excelled While Driving the No. 8 Entry
Earnhardt obviously created a legacy with the No. 3 during his time in the Cup Series. He won seven championships and became one of most popular drivers in NASCAR history. However, he also brought the No. 8 to prominence during his time in the Busch Grand National Series — now the Xfinity Series.
Earnhardt made a combined 14 starts during the 1982 and 1983 seasons while primarily driving the No. 15 entry. He switched to the No. 7 at the start of the 1984 season, but he only used the number for three races. Earnhardt moved over to the No. 8 for the race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 26, 1984, and he did not look back.
The Intimidator spent the rest of his 13-year tenure in the Busch Grand National Series driving the No. 8 entry with GM Goodwrench as his primary sponsor. He captured 17 of his 21 wins in the No. 8, including five in the 1986 season. He only started 11 races in 1986 but still matched Jack Ingram for the most in the series that year.
The Race at Texas Marks the Second Appearance of the Scheme
Reddick will race for the win at Texas while driving Earnhardt’s scheme, but he won’t be the first person to showcase the silver and black during the 2021 season. Dale Earnhardt Jr. previously did so at Darlington Raceway while serving as a pace car driver.
The 15-time Most Popular Driver headed to The Lady in Black on May 8 for Throwback Weekend. The Xfinity Series drivers lined up on the grid with special schemes referencing drivers from the past while Dale Jr. climbed into a fully-restored No. 8 Chevrolet Nova.
The driver-turned-NBC analyst proceeded to lead the field around the track in the classic stock car while serving as the pace car driver. Dale Jr. created excitement among the fans in attendance but also capped off a massive restoration process that began in 2019. Now Reddick will try to lead the field in a modern-day version of the No. 8 Chevrolet.
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