NASCAR: Johnson Asks To Borrow Earnhardt Sr. Fire Suit

When NASCAR hits Darlington this weekend the majority of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series field will be made up of ‘throwback’ paint schemes. Six-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson’s scheme will pay respect to Dale Earnhardt.

While Johnson already has the paint scheme, he wants to take it one step further this weekend while he is paying respect to Earnhardt. Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently revealed that Johnson asked him if he could borrow one of his fathers old fire suits to wear on the day of the race.

Earnhardt Jr. was speaking on Monday’s edition of the “Dale Jr. Download,” when he mentioned a text conversation between himself and Johnson.

"He’s texting me, he’s like, ‘You got one of your dad’s old uniforms and all that stuff?’ He wanted to actually wear it to intros, and it would fit probably. It smells like … every bit of 40 years old."

There is no word as to whether or not Johnson is going to use the fire suit (seen below) during driver intros this weekend in Darlington.

What’s truly interesting about the paint scheme that Johnson will be racing this weekend is that it’s the only time that Lowe’s was ever on the car for Earnhardt as it was a one-race deal. Even more interesting is the fact that Earnhardt never actually raced in the paint scheme.

"He sends me a picture of this car, and I said ‘David Pearson ran second in that car at Talladega in relief for my father,’ My father was out four weeks with broken collarbone (from a crash at Pocono), and David drove that car, ran second. That was the only race Lowe’s was on the hood. I don’t know why. Must’ve been a local chain, but they had Lowe’s on the hood for that race, and that race only.And so, it’s kind of unique, kind of weird. Jimmie gets excited about it and then I have to tell him the story. He’s like, ‘Man, I’m going to run one of your Dad’s throwbacks,’ and I’m like, ‘Well, David Pearson drove that car and Lowe’s was on the hood for just that race,’ but it’s still really cool. I’ve always wondered what that paint scheme would look like on one of the modern cars."

Although he will not be running this weekend in Darlington, fans of Earnhardt Jr. are hopeful that he can make his return next weekend in Richmond. Should Earnhardt Jr. run in Richmond and win, he would qualify for the 2016 NASCAR Chase.

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Jeff Gordon will be back in the No. 88 machine this weekend for Earnhardt Jr. and his team. Gordon was not in the car last weekend due to a prior commitment. If Earnhardt Jr. cannot return after Darlington, Gordon will remain in the car assuming his schedule allows for it.