Brad Keselowski Pays Tribute To Dale Earnhardt Jr.

It may be a bittersweet time, but Dale Earnhardt Jr. certainly enjoyed himself during his final season in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Back in April, Earnhardt Jr. announced that this will be his final season as a full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver. It seems only right to now pay respect to Dale Earnhardt Jr. this season before his final full-time NASCAR competition at the end of the year. Earnhardt Jr. drove his ACDelco paint scheme from his early days in the Xfinity Series in the Southern 500 . Now he will drive his original Cup Budweiser scheme in his last NASCAR Cup start at Homestead-Miami Speedway next month on November 18.

It speaks volumes that a rival driver would take time out to properly recognize and honor the legendary Dale Earnhardt Jr.

At the time of his retirement, it is quite interesting to discover that one of Earnhardt’s former JR Motorsports drivers will pay tribute to him this weekend in the Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway. Brad Keselowski will have a subtle display honoring Earnhardt on his No. 2 Miller Lite Ford.

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Keselowski revealed on his blog and Twitter page (see below) that his livery will be based on the No. 88 JR Motorsports U.S. Navy paint scheme from his first two Xfinity Series victories in 2008 – back when he was a Hendrick Motorsports development driver.

The usual blue trim of the Miller Lite scheme has been removed from the race car, and the front of the No. 2 is almost identical to that of the old No. 88 car. In addition to these subtle hints, the rear quarter panel will bear the #Cheers2DaleJr decals. Keselowski drove for JR Motorsports from 2007 until 2009 and earned six victories before getting recruited by Penske.

Brad Keselowski wrote the following in his blog post: 

"“Dale and I are great friends, and as many of you probably know, he gave me a chance to drive for him in 2007, and that opportunity changed my life.“I was very, very fortunate to drive for him and to have his help building a career. I don’t know if I’d be where I am without him, but I’m glad I don’t have to find out.”"

Next: Watch Dale Earnhardt Jr. Nail Driving Stereotypes With Dude Perfect

Watch Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s full speech and retirement announcement here.

Source: AutoWeek