NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. is “a natural choice” as the cover star of Activision’s “NASCAR The Game: Inside Line,” and he was chosen to be the game's “primary ambassador via an online poll that drew more than 750,000 votes through heavy promotion in social media,” according to Nate Ryan of USA TODAY. After a “one-year hiatus from the video game market” in ‘10, NASCAR returned last year “with an Activision-licensed product, but it didn't feature a driver on the cover.” Earnhardt will be the “focus of a marketing campaign launching next month before the game's November release.” NASCAR Senior VP & CMO Steve Phelps said that the video game “dovetails with the sport's digital-oriented strategy of appealing to Millennials who are obsessed with consuming content via iPads and smartphones.” The game will have an “enhanced level of fan engagement with online features for PlayStation and Xbox 360.” Through the online iRacing.com game, Earnhardt “met one of the developers of ‘NASCAR The Game: Inside Line’ and has corresponded with him about its progress.” Though he “hadn't played the 2012 version of the game yet, Earnhardt said its features should be an improvement over last year's model.” And he “isn't worried about a cover jinx heading into the Chase for the Sprint Cup.” Earnhardt: "That was more of an EA (Sports) thing, a Madden thing. Hopefully now that we're on a new developer, Activision will bring me a lot of luck" (USA TODAY, 8/22).
