[onlòóker]

Looks like Budweiser won't be following Dale Jr. to Hendrick Motorsports. He picks up Adidas, Pepsi and Sony.

So all you Junior fans, throw those Bud jackets out.

Hendrick says Earnhardt won't drive Bud car in '08

ESPN.com news services

Updated: July 13, 2007, 3:50 PM ET

Now it's known who won't have Budweiser as a primary sponsor in 2008.

Hendrick Motorsports announced Friday that Dale Earnhardt Jr. will not bring the "King of Beers" with him when he drives for the team next season. Hendrick did not say who will be Earnhardt's primary sponsor instead of Budweiser, which Earnhardt has driven for since he first entered NASCAR nearly a decade ago.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Earnhardt

"We have agreements in place with sponsors for the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, which prevent us from having a relationship with Budweiser," team owner Rick Hendrick said in a news release. "Honoring our commitments is important to us. The trade-off is missing an opportunity to bring Budweiser, a marquee brand synonymous with NASCAR and its fans, into the fold."

ESPN.com previously reported that PepsiCo Inc., possibly with the Mountain Dew brand or a combination of Pepsi products, is expected to sponsor Earnhardt next season at Hendrick, while Anheuser-Busch is negotiating with Evernham Motorsports to possibly move the Bud sponsorship to Kasey Kahne's No. 9 Dodge next season.

"To climb into that red Budweiser car each weekend has always been a privilege," Earnhardt said in the release. "Although Budweiser and I will be unable to continue our partnership beyond this season, I remain committed to driving for Bud the rest of this year, and will continue to make it my beer of choice."

Earnhardt has a personal services contract with Budweiser that runs through 2008.

The team has not announced a timetable for its sponsorship announcements.

Budweiser did not immediately announce which driver it will sponsor, but indicated that it would remain an active NASCAR sponsor. Terry Labonte, Darrell Waltrip, Bill Elliott, Ken Schrader, Ricky Craven and Wally Dallenbach have previously driven Budweiser-sponsored cars.

"Budweiser has sponsored Dale Jr. for nearly a decade, and we wish him the very best," said Tony Ponturo, vice president of global media and sports marketing for Anheuser-Busch Inc. "Budweiser will remain an active sponsor of NASCAR, and we look forward to building upon the legacy of the iconic Budweiser red car in 2008 and beyond."

Earnhardt announced in June that he would leave Dale Earnhardt Inc. to join the Hendrick team next season, but Hendrick has not yet made it clear what number car Earnhardt will drive or who his sponsor will be.

Kyle Busch, who is leaving the Hendrick team at the end of the season to make room for Earnhardt, currently drives a No. 5 car with sponsorship from Kellogg's and several other companies.

[hawk 5]

I don't think he'll keep the number 8 either. Them 400$ leather number 8 budwieser jackets are going to get alot of hanging time.