NASCAR fans across North Carolina now have 33 new ways to express their love of racing as the N.C. Department of Transportation’s Division of Motor Vehicles (NCDMV) has given the NASCAR license plate series the green flag. The new NASCAR-themed plates are the latest additions to NCDMV’s specialized license plate program, which includes over 90 special license plates that allow citizens to express their common interests and civic affiliations. The NASCAR series features a general NASCAR plate in addition to plates highlighting 32 of the sport’s most popular drivers. Requests for specialized license plates are approved by the General Assembly. Primary sponsors of the bill approving the NASCAR plate series were Senator David W. Hoyle and Representatives Wayne Goodwin, Linda Johnson and Karen Ray. Each plate has a checkered-flag background design, which substitutes for the “First in Flight” design on standard issue plates. The left side of the plate features an image representing a NASCAR driver while the right side has the identification letters and numbers. Motorists also have the opportunity to personalize the letter combinations on the plate.
In addition to the NASCAR series, NCDMV is introducing two other new plate designs, “Friends of the Appalachian Trail” and Virginia Tech. The “Friends of the Appalachian Trail” plate is currently being manufactured and should be available soon to the public while Virginia Tech plates are already available. Motorists should start seeing the NASCAR series plates on the road in just a few weeks. Applications are currently available by calling NCDMV’s Specialized License Plate Office at (919) 861-3575. Motorists may request the plates online and at license plate agencies throughout the state in about two months. For more information on NCDMV’s specialized license plate program visit www.ncdot.org/dmv and click on specialized license plates.(NCDOT site)(3-30-2005)
AND why no #3 or #8? That leaves one question for many fans: When can I get my Dale and Dale Jr. tags? The answer: Well, you can’t. So why no plates for Dale Earnhardt, the Kannapolis racing legend who died in a wreck four years ago, or for his son, who is one of the sport’s most popular drivers? Essentially, the plates are too tacky. Okay. They didn’t say that. But Joe Hedrick, vice president for licensing at Dale Earnhardt Inc., said the tags don’t look right. “Those plates don’t reflect the image of the North Carolina plate,” Hedrick said, adding that he would want them to look more like the state’s traditional “First in Flight” plates, but with Earnhardt’s No. 3 or Junior’s No. 8 emblem on one side. If you look at it, it looks like a very commercial plate,” he said. Hedrick said he’s sure DEI and the state could work something out. It’s the company’s obligation, he said, to give the state options for a different-looking tag. Hedrick also said to tell fans “we’re not abandoning them. We just want to go through the process to have a more authentic plate.”(Charlotte Observer)(3-31-2005)
