Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR’s most popular driver, announced on Wednesday the new number and sponsor for the next year. The son of legendary Dale Earnhardt will drive the No. 88 Chevrolet for the Hendrick Motorsports next season, according to the team’s Wednesday statement

He made the announcement at the Dallas Convention Center in front of about 100 media and sponsor officials, ending months of speculation.

Earnhardt's Chevrolet will be sponsored by Pepsi, with the company's Mountain Dew soft drink and Amp Energy drink featured on the car. The National Guard, which currently backs the No. 25 Hendrick car driven by Casey Mears, was also announced as one of the future sponsors.

"I want to thank Robert and Doug Yates for working with us in obtaining this number. This was a number, actually, we didn't think we would have the chance to get," Earnhardt Jr. said at the press conference.

Earnhardt has driven the No. 8 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS/Impala SS sponsored by Budweiser for Dale Earnhardt Inc. since 2000. His attempt to take the No.8 with him to Hendrick Motor sports failed because of his stepmother, Teresa Earnhadt, who wouldn’t give up her rights to it. NASCAR rules say that numbers stay with the owner unless the teams and NASCAR reach and agreement.

Hendrick Motorsports and Earnhardt reached such an agreement with Yates Racing and bought the No. 88. Earnhardt drove the No.88 in a Busch Series car and his grandfather, Ralph, also drove it in a ’57 race, so it could prove to be a lucky one for Dale.

Mark Martin and Aric Almirola will drive the No.8 Chevrolet next year and the U.S. Army will be the new sponsor as Budweiser will back the No. 9 Dodge driven by Kasey Kahne.

"It's a great choice," said Earnhardt about the number. "The number has some history. This was really a gold mine for me because of the heritage that it had. I was trying to do good by my fans. That was very important to them. One of the more popular questions I got was would it have an 8 in it? I think they can be twice as happy about the situation."

Dale Earnhardt recently unveiled his line of candy bars, "Dale Jr.'s Big Mo'," on Tuesday. He also signed personal services contracts with Adidas and Sony becoming the only the fourth athlete to receive a clothing line from Adidas. The other three are: Houston Rockets’ Tracy McGrady of the NBA, New Orleans Saints’ Reggie Bush of NFL and LA Galaxy’s midfielder David Beckham in the MLS.