Dale Earnhardt Jr. Will Be The New Face Of Goody's

One of the most venerable sponsors in NASCAR history will be represented by two of the sport's most iconic names.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., the most popular driver in the Sprint Cup Series for the past 10 seasons, has joined Richard Petty as a brand ambassador for Goody's.

"I guess they figured they needed a new face on Goody's," Petty, 75, said. "I've been doing it so long, people see you advertising it, it's old hat. To get the new generation and some new blood, I think they decided to go with Junior and do advertising to the younger generation. It's going to be up to Dale to help me sell Goody's to those kind of people."

The seven-time champion has been a spokesman for the headache remedy since 1977 -- when Earnhardt, son of the only other seven-time champion in NASCAR's premier series, was 3.

"This is an exciting time for me to get to spend some time with a legend and get to be part of a sponsorship that's been around so many years and has so much credibility in the sport," Earnhardt said. "I was really surprised, kind of shocked (to be hired by Goody's).

"(Petty) set the standard for interaction with race fans. When I was young, people talked about The King and referenced how he treated the fans as often as the races he won. That was the standard then, and it's still the standard today. It carries just as strongly today as it has. No one has done it better, and I don't know if anyone will."

A commercial was filmed featuring the stars at Earnhardt's Whisky River compound a few weeks, ago and Joseph Juliano, the brand director for Goody's, said the ads will begin running in May.

"We're extremely excited to get these two icons together," Juliano said. "They bring two diverse audiences that fully leverage the brand. They stand for speed."

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