Pour one out for beer-sponsored cars in the Daytona 500. The 2018 Daytona 500 is set to be the first 500 without any beer-sponsored cars in over 30 years.
There are still beer companies sponsoring Cup Series teams. Miller Lite is continuing its longtime sponsorship with Team Penske and the No. 2 car driven by Brad Keselowski. Busch Beer is still sponsoring the No. 4 car of Kevin Harvick.
But neither company is sponsoring their drivers in the Daytona 500, meaning the Feb. 18 race will be the first since 1982 without a beer-sponsored car.
No cars will fail to qualify for this year’s Daytona 500. There are only 40 cars entered for 40 spots.
Discount Tire, which moved up to the Cup Series as a part-time primary sponsor for Keselowski’s team in 2018 is getting the sponsorship rights to the Daytona 500. Jimmy John’s, which serves as the majority primary sponsor on Harvick’s team, will be the primary sponsor for his car during the 500. No other cars have beer sponsorships.
It’s crazy to think that beer — a beverage so iconically intertwined with NASCAR and its fans — won’t have a large presence at the Daytona 500. But welcome to the changing sponsor dynamics of NASCAR. Miller cut back to just 11 races in 2018 on Keselowski’s car while Busch will sponsor a similar amount of races for Harvick.
Here’s a look back at the beer-sponsored cars in the Daytona 500. If you’re of legal age, toast a cold one or three in their memory during the race.
1983
Budweiser – Terry Labonte
Miller High Life – Bobby Allison
Old Milwaukee – Tim Richmond
1984
Budweiser – Darrell Waltrip, Neil Bonnett
Old Milwaukee – Tim Richmond
Miller High Life – Bobby Allison
1985
Coors – Bill Elliott
Budweiser – Darrell Waltrip, Neil Bonnett
Miller – Bobby Allison
Old Milwaukee – Tim Richmond
1986
Budweiser – Darrell Waltrip, Neil Bonnett
Miller American – Bobby Hillin Jr., Bobby Allison
Coors – Bill Elliott
1987
Coors – Bill Elliot
Miller American – Bobby Allison, Bobby Hillin Jr.
Budweiser – Terry Labonte
1988
Miller High Life – Bobby Allison, Bobby Hillin Jr.
Budweiser – Terry Labonte
Stroh’s Light – Mark Martin
Coors – Bill Elliott
1989
Budweiser – Terry Labonte
Miller High Life – Mike Alexander, Bobby Hillin Jr.
Stroh’s Light – Mark Martin
Coors – Bill Elliott
1990
Coors – Bill Elliott
Miller Genuine Draft – Rusty Wallace
Budweiser – Geoffrey Bodine
1991
Miller Genuine Draft – Rusty Wallace
Coors Light – Bill Elliott
Budweiser – Geoffrey Bodine
1992
Keystone – Wally Dallenbach
Budweiser – Bill Elliott
Miller Genuine Draft – Rusty Wallace
1993
Keystone – Wally Dallenbach
Miller Genuine Draft – Rusty Wallace
Budweiser – Bill Elliott
1994
Budweiser – Bill Elliott
Miller Genuine Draft – Rusty Wallace
1995
Budweiser – Ken Schrader
Coors Light – Kyle Petty
Miller Genuine Draft – Rusty Wallace
1996
Budweiser – Ken Schrader
Miller – Rusty Wallace
Coors Light – Kyle Petty
1997
Budweiser – Ricky Craven
Coors Light – Robby Gordon
Miller Lite – Rusty Wallace
1998
Miller Lite – Rusty Wallace
Budweiser – Ricky Craven
Coors Light – Sterling Marlin
1999
Miller Lite – Rusty Wallace
Budweiser – Wally Dallenbach
Coors Light – Sterling Marlin
2000
Miller Lite – Rusty Wallace
Budweiser – Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Coors Light – Sterling Marlin
2001
Budweiser – Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Miller Lite – Rusty Wallace
Coors Light – Sterling Marlin
2002
Coors Light – Sterling Marlin
Miller Lite – Rusty Wallace
Budweiser – Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2003
Coors Light – Sterling Marlin
Miller Lite – Rusty Wallace
Budweiser – Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2004
Budweiser – Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Miller Lite – Rusty Wallace
Coors Light – Sterling Marlin
2005
Budweiser – Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Coors Light – Sterling Marlin
Miller Lite – Rusty Wallace
2006
Budweiser – Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Miller Lite – Kurt Busch
2007
Coors Light – David Stremme
Budweiser – Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Miller Lite – Kurt Busch
2008
Miller Lite – Kurt Busch
Budweiser – Kasey Kahne
2009
Miller Lite – Kurt Busch
Budweiser – Kasey Kahne
2010
Miller Lite – Kurt Busch
Budweiser – Kasey Kahne
2011
Miller Lite – Brad Keselowski
Budweiser – Kevin Harvick
2012
Budweiser – Kevin Harvick
Miller Lite – Brad Keselowski
2013
Miller Lite – Brad Keselowski
Budweiser – Kevin Harvick
2014
Miller Lite – Brad Keselowski
Budweiser – Kevin Harvick
2015
Budweiser – Kevin Harvick
Miller Lite – Brad Keselowski
2016
Miller Lite – Brad Keselowski
2017
Miller Lite – Brad Keselowski
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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