Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran a black rear bumper on his No. 88 Chevrolet at Hendrick Motorsports as a tribute to the 2001 Rolex 24 at Daytona, one of the final races he competed in alongside his father before Dale Sr. was killed at the 2001 Daytona 500. The design choice honored the yellow No. 3 Corvette C5R they co drove to a fourth place overall finish and second in class at the 24 hour endurance race.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Black Rear Bumper: A Father and Son Memory
The 2001 Rolex 24 took place on February 3-4, just two weeks before Dale Earnhardt’s fatal crash at Daytona. Junior drove alongside his father, Andy Pilgrim, and Kelly Collins in the Corvette Racing entry. Dale Sr. enjoyed the experience so much that Corvette Racing had already begun planning for him to race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France, with a spot reserved in one of their cars.
Junior later said the Rolex 24 represented “one of the first dominoes in a series of things” his father wanted to accomplish outside NASCAR, adding, “I just appreciate that we got to do that, before he was taken away from us.” He keeps a street model replica of the No. 3 Corvette and calls it one of only two cars he will never sell.
The Black Bumper Tribute to Dale Sr.
The black themed rear bumper became Junior’s way of honoring that race without copying his father’s iconic all black No. 3 Goodwrench Chevrolet. The design element connected him visually to Dale Sr.’s “Man in Black” era while maintaining his own identity. No official NASCAR rule or team mandate required the black bumper. Junior simply thought it looked good and carried personal meaning tied to one of his most treasured memories with his father.
Read More: Who is Johnny Roten, a Nascar Executive Who Died Recently?