MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Nov. 29, 2016) – To highlight his return to the cockpit of the No. 88 Chevrolet SS in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2017, Dale Earnhardt Jr. helped unveil the new Nationwide paint scheme for the car today at Hendrick Motorsports.

The car featured a white base coat with Nationwide blue panels and an “RPM bar” banded around the rocker panels. The familiar stylized metallic silver No. 88 adorned both doors.

“I like to keep the car understandable,” Earnhardt Jr. said after the car was unveiled. “When you decal a car, you have a lot of contingency decals on it, the number, associate sponsors and things like that, so the scheme itself, I like it to be understandable once you get all the decals on it. The RPM bar was something that [crew chief] Greg Ives came up with and he’s really excited about it.

“The Nationwide blue is always great, looks really good on the track and will show up on TV. I loved the silver and blue we ran last year, but that silver would blend into the track and it was difficult for the spotters as well. TJ [Majors, spotter] will love this car, he’ll be able to see this car coming a mile away and so will the fans.”

The car was unveiled by Earnhardt Jr. and Jim McCoy, director of sports marketing for Nationwide, on Facebook Live, much to the glee of thousands of fans chatting along.

“Similar to last year, we worked closely with Dale to create this year’s paint scheme,” McCoy said. “We value our partnership and long history with Dale. That trust allows us to collaborate on important decisions like the paint scheme. It’s a good-looking car, a very good collaborative effort between Greg, Dale and the rest of the team, and I think the fans, JR Nation, are absolutely going to love it. It is going to look fast on the race track.”

Earnhardt Jr., a student of the sport and very involved in the paint schemes he drives, said the idea was a team-wide collaboration.

“This is an idea that my team and I pulled together,” Earnhardt Jr. said at the unveiling. “It’s a blend of my personal influence and Nationwide’s influence and the team’s influence, even the fans sometimes. It’s had some influence from lots of friends of mine. We presented it to Nationwide and they had their ideas, and made their changes to it.”

Also announced was the creation of a six-episode “docuseries” that will premiere on the Nationwide 88 Facebook and Twitter pages in January 2017. Called “Unfinished Business,” the six-part docuseries will chronicle Earnhardt Jr.’s offseason and the preparation for his return to the car in Daytona this February.

The docuseries will give JR Nation a rare behind-the-scenes look at what goes into getting Earnhardt Jr. ready for the NASCAR season, including the design of the Nationwide 88 Chevrolet SS paint scheme, Dale’s helmet and fire suit, the training of the No. 88 pit crew and the relentless dedication required to prepare the No. 88 team for the upcoming season. Interviews with Earnhardt Jr., his fiancée Amy Reimann, Ives, team owner Rick Hendrick and others will be included, and in addition, fans will get a sneak peek into what goes on during a commercial shoot.

By unveiling the car on Facebook Live and posting extra content on the Nationwide 88 Facebook and Twitter pages, as well as producing the docuseries, McCoy said it was a way to share the news with as many fans as possible.

“Since Nationwide came on board with Dale and Hendrick Motorsports in 2015, JR Nation has showed us unbelievable support both on and off the track,” he said. “One way they have displayed that support is on our social channels. We launched the Nationwide 88 Facebook and Twitter platforms with our partnership in late 2014 and today they are among the largest fan-supported channels in all of NASCAR.

“This docuseries is just one more way that Nationwide interacts with the JR Nation fan base in a way that no other sponsor has. We think the fans will really enjoy this exclusive behind-the-scenes look into the 88 team and hope it will add to the excitement of Dale’s return to the car in Daytona.”