Dale Earnhardt Jr. Gets Real with ESPN's Shifting Gears
Dale Earnhardt Jr. courtesy JR Motosports/ESPN
In case there was any doubt who NASCAR's biggest star is, ESPN just announced a new five-part series,
Dale Jr. - Shifting Gears, which will follow
Dale Earnhardt Jr. as he moves to his new team, Hendrick Motor Sports. Coming off a frustrating 16th-place finish in last season's NASCAR Nextel Cup campaign, Junior is hoping for big things with his new team and his new car, the No. 88 Chevy.
Shifting Gears premieres Friday, Feb. 8 (7 pm/ET, ESPN2), nine days before the renamed Sprint Cup season kicks off at the Daytona 500 (Sunday, Feb. 17, 3:30 pm/ET, Fox). Episodes 2 and 3 will air Feb. 15 and 16, with the remaining two coming this summer.
The show will be coproduced by Earnhardt's company, Hammerhead Entertainment. In a statement, Earnhardt said:
"We were working on a new DVD about my life and the guys kept getting more and more footage, so they decided to put a whole TV show together to document the biggest career decision I've ever made. The past year of my life has been a roller-coaster, and it's pretty cool that we're giving everyone an inside look at how everything came together."
