Budweiser to Feature Popular NASCAR Driver on 12-Ounce Cans, Aluminum Bottles and Packaging through November

The metallic red Budweiser aluminum bottle will feature a white No. 8 logo, racing and checkered-flag silhouettes, and Dale Jr.’s signature, wrapped in a unique red four-pack carrier or 15-pack loose box featuring the No. 8 Budweiser car.

31/07/06 Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been on the cover of nearly every magazine in the United States. Now he’s about to grace the cover of another widely distributed product -- Budweiser 12-ounce cans and new aluminum bottles.

Though Dale Jr.’s image has appeared on Budweiser plastic and shrink wrapped bottles, and 16-ounce cans in the past, the move to Budweiser’s primary package and the aluminum bottle will be a first for NASCAR’s most popular driver.

"I love the new aluminum bottles. It makes a cold Bud seem even colder!" said Earnhardt Jr. "To have the No. 8 on them is pretty cool, and it’s always humbling to see my name on the Bud packaging. Right now, we're focused completely on making this year’s Chase for the Cup, and I hope the special packaging will help excite the fans for our race for the championship."

Dale Jr.’s image, car and red No. 8 will grace the main panel of Budweiser’s 12-ounce cans and will be distributed only in race markets within 30 days of the final 16 races of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season. The program begins July 10 in Indianapolis in advance of the Allstate 400 on Aug. 6.

"Budweiser and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are enjoying tremendous success this season on and off the track, and incorporating the Budweiser No. 8 car and Dale Jr. into our packaging program is a tremendous way to honor that success," said Randall Blackford, director of Budweiser marketing, Anheuser-Busch. "We hope the fans appreciate our continued support of Dale Jr. as he pursues the NEXTEL Cup series championship."

Earnhardt Jr., winner of the 2004 Daytona 500 and a two-time NASCAR Busch Series champion, is currently third in the NASCAR Nextel Cup point standings after 17 races. He has one victory, five top-five and seven top-10 finishes so far in 2006. He has earned 17 career victories and 98 top-10 finishes in his NASCAR NEXTEL Cup career, including a coveted victory in the 2004 Daytona 500. He has been selected as NASCAR's Favorite Driver for three consecutive years and was named in June as one of America's Top-Five Favorite Athletes by a Harris Interactive poll.

Budweiser is the "Official Beer of NASCAR," the title sponsor of the Budweiser No. 8 Chevrolet driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr. since 1999 and sponsor of the Bud Pole Award in all NASCAR divisions through 2007. Anheuser-Busch’s Busch beer has been the title sponsor of the NASCAR Busch Series since the circuit’s inception in 1982. Anheuser-Busch is also the title sponsor of the annual Budweiser Shootout at Daytona, the exclusive beer and malt beverage advertiser of the Daytona 500, and the "Official Beer" of Daytona International Speedway.