adidas and Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced a multi-year partnership. The
collaboration will include a full line of Dale Jr. footwear, apparel
and accessories, including his future racing suit and technical
footwear as well as off track footwear and fan apparel.
“I've been wearing adidas my whole life. It's who I am. Throughout my
career I've been fortunate to partner with brands that fit my
lifestyle, and adidas fits,” explained Dale Jr. “Because of that, I'm
excited to bring adidas into our sport, introduce them to our loyal fan
base, and work with them to apply their performance technologies and
innovation to create cutting edge products that will help me as a race
car driver and allow me to remain true to myself.”
adidas said Dale Jr. will work directly with the adidas Innovation Team
(aIT) to design and create an innovative, groundbreaking racing suit
and technical driving shoes as the critical link between man and
machine. Dale Jr. will debut these cutting edge adidas products at the
2008 season opener in Daytona.
“The adidas philosophy has always been to work closely with key
athletes to produce innovative products that offer them every possible
performance advantage,” explained Mark Clinard, Business Director for
Motor Sports, adidas America. “This is what has led to our reputation
as the leading innovator in the sporting goods industry. We consider
Dale Jr. to be the most influential driver in NASCAR and therefore the
perfect driver for us to work with in creating the next generation of
technical driving products for NASCAR.”
adidas is also exploring opportunities to add technical features such
as ClimaCool to Dale Jr.'s racing products in order to provide him with
a competitive advantage.
“With extreme temperatures in the car, it is easy to see why we are
exploring the potential of applying our ClimaCool® technology,” said
Clinard. “ClimaCool® products have been proven to lower body
temperature and combat athlete fatigue; which is important because
fatigue can lead to a decrease in reaction time and performance. We
want to keep Jr. alert and responsive in those final laps to give him
that performance edge that could make the ultimate difference.”
In addition to providing fans access to Jr.'s technical driving range,
there will be an extensive collection of off track footwear, technical
apparel and fan merchandise.
Dale Jr. licensed products will be available via adidas' own retail
stores and through sporting goods retailers such as 'The Sports
Authority,' who have over 400 stores nationwide. The line will roll out
beginning in February 2008.
“Dale Jr. is an American icon and this is a great opportunity for
adidas to extend our brand. We have developed partnerships with the
NBA, NFL, MLS and a variety of major colleges and this announcement
further solidifies adidas' leadership in core American sports,” said
Clinard
