? Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Dale Earnhardt Jr. applies for his old No. 8 DEI font trademark, fuels speculation

Originally posted on 5 GOATs | By Jonathan Howard | Last updated 5/25/24

Where there is smoke there is fire and folks, I think there could be smoke rising. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is apparently making moves. Does this latest action mean Earnhardt is getting into the NASCAR Cup Series or does it just mean the most badass merch ever is coming out soon?

For years Dale Earnhardt Jr. has owned JR Motorsports with his sister, Kelley. The two of them have built a championship-caliber organization that has produced more than a few Cup Series talents. But could they get into the series themselves?

The folks at Brake Hard Blog shared a trademark filing on X, formerly known as Twitter. It shows that Dale Earnhardt Jr. Holdings has applied for the trademark to the classic No. 8 font. Teresa Earnhardt currently holds that trademark but it expires on June 3.

One of the classes DEJ Holdings has applied for is "entertainment services in the nature of professional athletes competing in automobile races"

The #8 car is so back. Get the throwbacks ready. pic.twitter.com/bs4vWoCUrD
— BrakeHard (@BrakeHardBlog) May 24, 2024

A ton of fans overreacted to the post or didn’t understand what it meant. Pump the brakes, folks. That is not what THIS specific move means.

Of course, everyone has wanted to know when the Earnhardts would get into Cup Series ownership. The news that Stewart-Haas Racing could have a fire sale and send the charter market going downwards of $20M-$30M is a big deal.

At that price, Dale Jr. could decide now is the time to get involved in the Cup Series. Charters will never be this cheap again.

Now, there is just one problem, Richard Childress Racing owns the No. 8 in the Cup Series. Even if Dale Jr. got into an ownership position, he likely couldn’t wrangle the number away from RCR. That would be insanity!

So, what does this really mean? Well, it means we are going to likely be flooded with a ton of amazing throwback merch and paint schemes in the Xfinity Series. It will basically allow Dale Earnhardt Jr. to sell merch and run the Dale Earnhardt Inc. font on his Xfinity car, Late Model Stock, and other ventures.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. deserves to have that font trademark. At this point, it has done little but sit on a shelf and collect dust. Now, Earnhardt could revive his brand. The trademark would let him do a lot more outside of the track to promote the sport. Let’s hope it happens!

This article first appeared on 5 GOATs and was syndicated with permission.

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