OWINGS MILLS, Md. -= It looks like Dale Earnhardt Jr. has waved the red flag in a short-lived trademark dispute with Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.

The NASCAR legend announced Friday on social media that he has secured the right to use a stylized version of No. 8 and will abandon the original No. 8 logo used by Earnhardt’s JR Motorsports. This decision came two days after Jackson filed an opposition claim with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to stop Earnhardt from putting that JR Motorsports version of No. 8 on merchandising.

“We are looking forward to the remainder of an already successful season,” Earnhardt wrote on social media.

pic.twitter.com/uZWk8kPlcW

— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) April 4, 2025

Jackson, who has worn No. 8 since his college days at Louisville, previously registered the trademark “ERA 8 by Lamar Jackson.” His filing had argued Earnhardt’s attempt to trademark that particular version of No. 8 would create confusion among consumers.

The trademark review for a challenge can take more than a year. If the U.S. Patent and Trademark appeal board would have denied Earnhardt, Jackson could have sued him if Earnhardt had used it for merchandising.

This isn’t the first time that Jackson has tried to stop another athlete from filing a trademark on this number. In July, Jackson challenged Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman’s attempt to use “EIGHT” on apparel and bags.

When asked about this dispute last summer, Jackson said, “We’re going to keep this about football. That’s outside noise. We’re sticking with [talking about training] camp, football, and that’s it.”

DARLINGTON, S.C. — Denny Hamlin did his job so his pit crew could do its most stellar stop at the perfect time.

Hamlin came into the pits after a final caution in third place and told himself to hit every mark, then let his guys take over.

And that’s what the Joe Gibbs Racing group did, pulling off a perfect winning moment that sent Hamlin out with the lead. He took over on the final restart and held off William Byron to win the Goodyear 400 on Sunday.

It was Hamlin’s 56th career NASCAR win, his fifth at Darlington Raceway and his second straight this season

“When you think about 56 wins, that’s a huge deal,” said Gibbs, Hamlin’s longtime car owner.

Hamlin said he hung on throughout as Byron and others looked like they might pull out victory. Instead, Hamlin waited out his time and then pounced as he broke away during the green-white-checkered finish.

“I can still do it, I can do it at a high level and look forward to winning a lot of races this year,” Hamlin said.

Hamlin won for a second straight week after his success at Martinsville.

Hamlin chose the outside lane for a final restart and shot out to the lead and pulled away from series points leader Byron and NASCAR wins leader Christopher Bell.

Hamlin looked like he’d have a strong finish, but not a winning one as Ryan Blaney passed Tyler Reddick for the lead with three laps left. But moments later, Kyle Larson spun out forcing a final caution and the extra laps.

It was then time for Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing pit crew to shine as it got him out quickly and in the lead.

Byron, who led the first 243 laps, was second with Hamlin’s JGR teammate Bell in third.

“There are two people I really love right now, my pit crew and Kyle Larson,” Hamlin said to a round of boos from those in the stands.

Reddick was fourth and Blaney was fifth. The rest of the top 10 finishers were Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott, Ty Gibbs and Kyle Busch.

Hamlin credited the past two victories to his pit crew.

“The pit crew just did an amazing job,” he said. “They won it last week, they won it this week. It’s all about them.”

Blaney had thought he was clear to his first-ever Darlington victory after getting by Reddick late. When he saw the caution flag for Larson’s spin, he said he thought, “Oh, no! I thought we had the race won.”

So did Byron, who sought was to become the first NASCAR driver in nearly 25 years to lead every lap on the way to victory. He got shuffled down the standings during the last round of green-flag pit stops and could not recover.

“It was looking like it was going to be a perfect race and we were going to lead every lap,” he said.

But once “we lost control, it was too late to get back up there,” Byron said.

Bad day

Kyle Larson, who won the Southern 500 here in 2023, had high hopes for a second Darlington win. But he slid into the inside wall coming off the second turn on lap three and went right to garage where his team worked the next couple of hours to get him back on track. Larson returned on lap 164 after falling 161 laps off the pace. Larson finished next to last in 37th.

Biffle’s ride

Greg Biffle, the last NASCAR driver to win consecutive Cup Series victories at Darlington in 2006 and 2007, drove the pace car for the Goodyear 400 on Sunday. Biffle has had an eventful few months, flying rescue missions with his helicopter into areas of the Southeast affected by devastating Hurricane Helene in September.

Biffle was planning a weeklong trip to the Bahamas when his phone started going off about people stranded in parts of Western North Carolina.

“I went to the hangar and the power was out,” Biffle said. “We got the hangar down open with the tug and got the helicopter out. Once I got in the air, I realized what had taken place.”

Biffle then flew the next 11 days from “sunup to sundown.”

“It was incredible,” Biffle said. “It was pretty tough going for the first week.”

Biffle won the Myers Brothers Humanitarian Award for his work.

Up next

The series goes to Bristol on April 13 before taking its traditional Easter break.

The Pirates announced Sunday that they will be adding the No. 21 logo back to the right field wall to honor Roberto Clemente at PNC Park after the franchise icon’s family expressed their unhappiness that the sign was removed for an advertisement.

“We did not intend to disrespect the legacy of Roberto Clemente by adding the advertisement to the pad in right field,” Pirates president Travis Williams said in a statement.

“When we added the advertisement to the pad, it was an oversight not to keep the No. 21 logo. This is ultimately on me, not anyone else in the organization. It was an honest mistake. We will be adding the No. 21 logo back to the pad.”

Williams added: “We want to make sure that the Clemente family understands that we intended no disrespect to their father. We look forward to continuing our relationship with the Clemente family and apologize to them and our fans for our honest mistake.”

The sign, which had been on the right-field wall since 2022, featured Clemente’s name and his No. 21 but it was replaced with an advertisement for Surfside, an alcoholic drink.

The right-field wall at PNC Park stands 21 feet high in honor of Clemente.

Earlier Sunday, Roberto Clemente Jr. expressed his family’s unhappiness in a prepared statement.

“This change was made without any communication or consultation with our family,” Clemente’s statement said in part. “While we appreciate that the Pirates acknowledged their failure to inform us, it reveals a broader issue: a lack of meaningful collaboration between the organization and on matters that are deeply personal and historically significant to us and the fans.

“The outpouring of support from fans in Pittsburgh and across the country has been overwhelming and deeply appreciated. It is clear that our father’s legacy continues to inspire and unite people, not only for his achievements on the field, but for the integrity and compassion he demonstrated off of it.

“We have always been open to building a sincere and lasting partnership with the Pirates, one grounded in respect and shared values,” the statement continued. “Our hope is that this moment serves as an opportunity for reflection, paving the way for a more thoughtful, transparent, and collaborative relationship moving forward. I intend to reach out to the Pirates directly to explore this further.”

Clemente spent his entire career with the Pirates from 1955 to 1972. He played in 15 All-Star Games while winning 12 Gold Glove awards, four batting titles and the 1966 National League MVP.

Clemente died in a plane crash off the coast of San Juan in his native Puerto Rico on New Year’s Eve in 1972 while attempting to deliver supplies to earthquake-ravaged Nicaragua. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame the following summer.