• Newsweek/MSNBC, Tuesday, September 25, 2007 11 AM

NASCAR has finally and officially managed to brand everything. If you don't believe it, think of a product and then Google it along with the word "NASCAR" and see what you get. If you Google "fruit," for example, you get NASCAR-approved mangoes and a three-pack of NASCAR briefs by Fruit of the Loom.

This sort of branding works because NASCAR's fans are passionate and extremely loyal to their favorite drivers. A photo that made the email rounds a while back shows a big guy at a race with Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s No. 3 shaved into his hair ... his back hair. Blogs this week were speculating about how many "thousands" of fans will have to go out and get their Dale Earnhardt Jr. tattoos doctored, now that he's moving from car No. 8 to No. 88.

Indeed, NASCAR-inspired products can follow you from the cradle to the grave, from baby clothes to Tony Stewart pacifiers to the "Race Is Over" coffin available at Artcaskets.com.

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