NASCAR's two biggest names team up

CONCORD, NC

It's a marketer's dream.

BOOGITY! BOOGITY! BOOGITY!

NASCAR returns to FOX at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday. The green flag drops at 6 p.m. ET, with coverage on FOX beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET.

NASCAR’s two biggest names — Earnhardt and Petty — are partnering to promote Goody’s Headache Powders.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was named NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver for the 10th consecutive season, hopes to unite the sport’s younger fan base with the core traditional supporters of seven-time champion Richard Petty. The King has been a spokesman for Goody’s since 1977, when the brand became the sport’s first non-automotive backer. Goody’s remains one of the longest sponsor relationships in NASCAR.

“This partnership is unprecedented,” said Joseph Juliano, brand director at Goody’s. “It is the first time that these two NASCAR legends have worked together. Each of them has a huge fan base, and they are both synonymous with the sport of auto racing. Goody’s is all about speed, and nobody personifies the idea of speed better than Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Jr.”

The campaign kicks off during the first quarter of 2013. Goody’s will also continue to be the title sponsor of the fall Sprint Cup race at Martinsville Speedway, to be raced on Oct. 27 this season.

“I am really looking forward to working with Dale Jr. on the new campaign for Goody’s, which will introduce the product to a whole new generation,” Petty said. “He is a great driver and a smart businessman, and nobody is more popular with NASCAR fans.”

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Earnhardt, who considers himself a historian of the sport, was tickled to be aligned with The King and Goody’s. The third-generation racer says some of his earliest memories at the track were of Petty and the popular headache powders.

“Richard Petty is a role model for me and every other driver in NASCAR,” Earnhardt said. “I am honored to be working with him and thankful Goody’s brought us together. I signed on with Goody’s in part because of their long-term commitment to NASCAR. They helped start the trend of non-car companies coming into the sport. In my mind, they are synonymous with NASCAR racing. I am also a big fan of their product because it works so fast.”