2012 Dale Earnhardt Jr #88 Diet Mountain Dew Frost Finish 1:24 NASCAR Diecast

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s new paint scheme for the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was unveiled Wednesday. Pepsico - a partner on Earnhardt’s cars since he joined Hendrick Motorsports in 2008 - will feature its Diet Mountain Dew brand on the No. 88 Chevrolet.  AMP Energy will remain as a major associate sponsor, retaining a significant presence with the team.

“The time is right to put the power of Dale Earnhardt Jr. behind Diet Mountain Dew as our lead brand on the 88 car,” said Brett O’Brien, vice president of marketing for Mountain Dew and AMP Energy.  “Dale Jr. is the embodiment of the person we’re trying to target with Diet Mountain Dew.  It's a perfect partnership.”

Mountain Dew has a strong and storied history in NASCAR.  Notably, it was the primary sponsor of Hall of Fame driver Darrell Waltrip during the 1981 and 1982 seasons, marking two of his three championship-winning campaigns.

More recently, Diet Mountain Dew was featured on Earnhardt’s No. 88 Chevrolet in the inaugural Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway in July.  A variety of Diet Mountain Dew-themed paint schemes will be run during the final two months of the current season - including races at New Hampshire this weekend, Talladega Superspeedway and Martinsville Speedway in October, and at Phoenix International Raceway in November.

As it has since joining the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports team in 2008, PepsiCo (20 points-paying races) will share co-primary sponsorship of Earnhardt’s Chevrolets with the National Guard (16 points-paying races) in 2012.