Bud on Kasey Kahne's car next year...

[Ponch ®]

At least they went to a Dodge. Now I don't have to throw all of my Dale Jr. gear away.



Unless you actually were dumb enough to tattoo the red Bud #8 car with "Dale Jr. Forever" right under it on your shoulder blade...then you're effed. I saw some lady sporting that at the local half mile oval a couple of weeks ago...I kid you not.

Me? All I gotta do is take a red Sharpie to whatever Budweiser gear I own and turn all the 8's into 9's, like so:

[68chrgrwife]

Just because he's got Bud on the car oesn't mean he's got Bud in the car......Don't know if Kasey could pull that one off!

[chargerman68]

is he even old enough to buy beer

[Lowprofile]

Looks like a good match-up! Good for Dodge and Kasey! 

[The70RT]

HELL YEAH......even though I drink Miller.

[NHCharger]

I think the Kasey/Bud hook up is good. Now if Ray Evernham can start concentrating on building some good race cars instead of banging his "development driver" Erin Crocker maybe Kasey and Elliot can crack the top ten next year.

[TruckDriver]

On another note, I heard that Evernham and the Pettys will be merging too.

[The70RT]

On another note, I heard that Evernham and the Pettys will be merging too.

That sounds like a good idea.

[TruckDriver]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news?slug=txkahnebudweiser&prov=st&type=lgns

Budweiser to sponsor Kahne beginning in 2008

September 18, 2007
ST. LOUIS (TICKER) -- Add Kasey Kahne to the storied list of drivers to drive for one of NASCAR's most successful sponsors.

On Tuesday, Budweiser announced the Gillett Evernham Motorsports driver will become the next racer to take the wheel of the red No. 9 Budweiser Dodge Avenger when the 2008 Sprint Cup season kicks off in February.

Kahne replaces Dale Earnhardt Jr., who on Wednesday is expected to announce Mountain Dew and the energy drink Amp as his sponsor at Hendrick Motorsports for 2008, according to ESPN.com.

Other notable drivers to pilot the Budweiser car in NASCAR racing include Terry Labonte, Darrell Waltrip and Bill Elliott.

"Budweiser has a long and storied history with NASCAR and some of its most successful drivers. We're excited about Kasey's ability to add to that outstanding lineage," Anheuser-Busch vice president Tony Ponturo said. "Along with team owners George Gillett and Ray Evernham, we feel the pieces are in place for the No. 9 Budweiser Dodge to contend for NASCAR Sprint Cup championships for years to come."

[70charginglizard]

Right on Kasey.

As long as it's still dodge then I'm fine with it. Bud does follow thru with Kasey's color so thats good. 

[Lowprofile]

From FOX Sports........


Kahne a good fit for Budweiser's future 

STATESVILLE, N.C. - Kasey Kahne's arrival by Clydesdale-drawn wagon marked a changing of the guard by Budweiser and Gillett Evernham Motorsports for 2008.
Alongside the eight gorgeous geldings sat a different ride — the No. 9 Budweiser Dodge that Kahne will drive in the Nextel Cup Series.
After nine seasons with Dale Earnhardt Jr., Budweiser is shifting gears towards a more female-friendly demographic by bringing Kahne, 26, into the fold. George Gillett is enhancing his bottom line by bringing in a blue-chip sponsor to subsidize his racing empire. And Kahne, NASCAR's new Bud Man, is about to be exposed to his adoring public by leaps and bounds.

But the question keeps arising: Is the boy next door ready to pitch beer?

"You probably don't know me too well if you don't know that I'm a beer guy," Kahne said. "As far as the image and things, when I came here in 2004 I wasn't ready to go to Nextel Cup with all the fans. I didn't expect it, I wasn't ready for it and it hit me quick. It was really exciting for myself. Since then you get more and more used to it as time goes and now with this, it's going to elevate it even more.

"I'm just trying to go day-by-day and have fun with what I did. This sport and what we do, you can either have fun with it or it will drain you and pull you down sometimes. Over the last year, I think I've had more fun with it, whether it was doing commercials, racing or interacting with the fans. Even this year, we haven't had the best racing season but I'm having a good time with things and trying to enjoy myself. That's something as a driver you choose whether you want to or don't want to — that's kind of how I've always taken it."

Gillett, who recently became majority owner of GEM, is the new face of NASCAR. His properties also include the Montreal Canadiens, Liverpool Football Club of England's Premier League and Vista Auto Group in Colorado. Gillett's reach is international, which opens doors well beyond the traditional NASCAR pool. Gillett's relationship with Tony Ponturo, Anheuser-Busch's vice president, global media and sports marketing, dates back 25 years, but it was a recent exchange that brought the relationship full circle.

"I was talking to Tony about perhaps becoming a shirt sponsor for the Liverpool Soccer Club," Gillett said. "He thought about it for a while, and we renewed acquaintances over that. Ultimately, they said no, but it established the dialogue, and I said to them that we were thinking of getting into motorsports, and so forth, so he said, 'If anything happens, stay in touch.' "

Gillett did and despite other opportunities including Coors, whose Molson brand previously sponsored the Bell Centre where the Canadiens play, he opted to partner with America's top beer.

Ponturo sees the promise of a relationship with the Gillett family for future opportunities. In addition to the sports enterprises, Gillett's holdings include ski and golf resorts as well. Ponturo, whose group was feted at Kahne's home Monday night, is confident that the new face of Budweiser will be a popular decision with women and men alike. He's out to prove that Bud's "not just your father's beer" while also attracting "the millennial consumer — 21 to 27," the next generation of Bud drinkers who are more technologically minded.

"I think we're looking to broaden the appeal for the Budweiser brand. We don't want to lose the core consumer — that's key," Ponturo said. "But we think that Kasey can not only get the respect of the core consumer but have that broader appeal as well.

"We've learned that the woman consumer — is also the woman purchaser — is a heavy influencer on the choices made as they go to supermarkets and convenience stores, so it doesn't hurt and it's a positive that they would find Kasey appealing and the whole Budweiser association."
 
   

Ponturo expects to build a Bud campaign around Kahne that embraces the drivers individuality. Kahne is certainly up for the challenge, saying, "Watch and see, (I) will be a good Bud guy."

"At first, I thought about the car and seeing the different drivers in the different uniforms over the last 15-20 years — as long as I remember watching races," Kahne said. "Seeing that and thinking, 'What will I look like in the Bud suit?' It's different. It's going to be a lot different. That's what I thought about having the No. 9 — all Budweiser.

"Now you think more of the image thing and the fans. Dale Jr. has so many fans — it's not even close to anybody. It's ridiculous how many fans he has, but I think we'll have some of those Budweiser fan's too. The No. 9 is going to get more fans because of Budweiser and I will as a driver. It's exciting. I'm going to grow as a driver."

[red72chrgr]

Guess I can't be a Kasey fan, too old(50) and male...lol. Geez the moneywhores are really trying to ruin something that used to be enjoyable for some of us.