The Dale Earnhardt Jr. merchandise machine was cranked up as soon as Wednesday's announcement of new number and sponsors was made at the Dallas Convention Center.

Mark Dyer, president and CEO of Motorsports Authentics, was in Dallas when Earnhardt made it official. His new number will be 88 and Mountain Dew's Amp Energy drink and the National Guard will serve as primary sponsors in 2008 when he leaves Dale Earnhardt, Inc. for Hendrick Motorsports.

Even before Earnhardt unveiled the new paint schemes, merchandise was already on sale at various online stores. Dyer said he expected sales would be brisk.

Dyer's company, which markets and distributes products to a variety of dealers, has several types of T-shirts and caps already available with the different paint schemes and the No. 88 on them. Those could take just a few weeks to ship. Fans can also purchase die-cast cars, but it will take longer to get those out onto the market.

Dyer estimates that Earnhardt items account for 25-35 percent of all NASCAR merchandise sales. He also said that Earnhardt's new sponsors should position him to attract more young fans, and Earnhardt's popularity can still grow.

"I think these sponsors work well for his personality and his branding," Dyer said. "Wait until he wins more and has a championship, and see how much bigger he can be. It's a testament to how big he is that he's had a rough couple of seasons and is this big."

Earnhardt designs looks: Earnhardt designed both paint schemes on his new No. 88 Chevrolet and admitted he was picky about the details. But he said he was pleased with the results. The Mountain Dew/Amp Energy paint scheme is green, while the National Guard one is navy blue.

"They're gorgeous," said Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, Earnhardt's sister and business manager. "The paint colors couldn't pop any brighter or bolder."

Elledge said Earnhardt will race the Mountain Dew/Amp car in 20 events next season and the National Guard car in 16.

Testing plan: Rick Hendrick said he might try to get Earnhardt into a Hendrick Car of Tomorrow during testing at Atlanta Motor Speedway next month, a week before the Nextel Cup series returns to Texas Motor Speedway. Hendrick said he's considering talking to other car owners to see if they'd be willing to swap some drivers so teams could get a head start on next season.

"Car owners do work together, so we'll see if that's a possibility," Hendrick said. "But we don't have anything planned at this time."

Briefly: TMS president Eddie Gossage served as official greeter at the news conference, welcoming everyone to Texas. Gossage noted that Earnhardt's first Busch and Cup wins took place at TMS. He also presented Earnhardt with a customized buffalo felt Charlie 1 Horse cowboy hat. ... Earnhardt spoke to about 1,500 Pepsi-Cola bottlers at a meeting before the news conference.