Dale Earnhardt Jr. selects Diet Mountain Dew ‘Paint The 88’ design to drive at Phoenix

AVONDALE, Ariz. (Nov. 12, 2010) – Dale Earnhardt Jr. will showcase a special No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard Chevrolet when he races in this Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Phoenix International Raceway. The paint scheme was designed by Jason Corino, one of Earnhardt’s biggest fans, and was selected by Earnhardt from almost 10,000 designs submitted during the Diet Mountain Dew ‘Paint The 88’ promotion. “I was really interested to see what the fans would come up with and what their opinions are about what our car should look like,” Earnhardt said. “You want that reaction and connection with your fans, you want them to have input into what you are doing. It was a great program and as a fan you have to get excited about something like that.” Diet Mountain Dew and the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports team of Earnhardt teamed up to create the Diet Mountain Dew ‘Paint The 88’ program, which started July 5, 2010, and gave race fans the opportunity to create and submit a design that might be featured on Earnhardt’s No. 88 Chevrolet at Phoenix. “Diet Dew and Dale Jr. make a great team,” said Rebecca Kerr, brand manager, Diet Mountain Dew. “We knew that bringing them together would tap into the excitement of fans everywhere." Coming up with the paint scheme was not easy for Corino, who admitted he does not have a background in design. Rather, Corino researched Earnhardt’s previous paint scheme preferences and finally locked down on an idea that seemed to follow the traditional color palette of Diet Mountain Dew, while also appealing to Earnhardt’s car-design sensibilities. The 36-year-old native of Colorado Springs, Colo., said he was surprised to hear Earnhardt had chosen his green-and-white look. “There are no words to explain how I feel, other than it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and I’m excited,” Corino said. “I can't wait to see the car on the track. Thank you so much Dale Jr. and Diet Mountain Dew." To see Corino’s design and learn more about the program, visit www.facebook.com/mountaindew or www.HendrickMotorsports.com/multimedia. And tune in Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN to watch Earnhardt take on Phoenix’s one-mile oval in the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew ‘Paint the 88’/National Guard Chevrolet.