Shifting gears - Lavielle zooms in from cosmetics world to freshen up Dale Jr

Thayer Lavielle once worked on the 31st floor of a Manhattan skyscraper. She had a window office overlooking Fifth Avenue and routinely jetted off to Paris.

This was her life as assistant vice president for promotional marketing for Lancome, the high-end brand of the cosmetics giant L'Oreal USA.

Today she works outside of Mooresville, in an office off Bullet Lane, with a boxer named Killer panting in her office.

Lavielle has been the vice president of marketing and brand development for JR Motorsports since June - tasked with selling all things Dale Earnhardt Jr., racing's biggest celebrity.

Sister Kelley Earnhardt, who helps handle Earnhardt's business affairs, lured Lavielle to Iredell County because she wanted someone with traditional business sense to protect and grow the "Junior" empire.

NASCAR's corporate office in Daytona Beach, Fla., has long embraced such outsiders, bringing in executives from consulting firms and finance. But among its teams scattered throughout the Charlotte region, it's less common to find someone with Lavielle's background.

"She brings a corporate background, but she's fresh, and thinks outside of the box," Kelley said. "When you go with someone within the community, you don't always get that."

Said Kelley: "Dale Jr.'s only question was: Why would she want to come here? She's in New York, and she works for a Fortune 500 company."

For Lavielle, 36, the decision was in part about quality of life. With a husband and two young sons, she was looking for what so many Charlotte transplants from the Northeast seek: peace and affordability.

"I would say most of the reaction (at L'Oreal) was surprise," Lavielle said laughing. "I wasn't exactly going to work for Estee Lauder."

Lavielle played ice hockey and lacrosse at Colgate University. But she only had a passing knowledge of NASCAR.

"It wasn't in my social consciousness yet," Lavielle said. "I had heard of Cale Yarborough. I had heard of Richard Petty. I had heard of Dale Earnhardt. But I couldn't pick them out of a crowd."

Earlier this decade, while doing public relations for L'Oreal, Lavielle had an idea to use NASCAR to endorse a fragrance. Her bosses were intrigued, and in 2002, Drakkar Noir cologne unveiled its first print and television ads starring Dale Earnhardt Jr.

The ad campaign came as NASCAR sponsorships were branching out from traditional products such as beer and auto parts, and into food and household products, and even Viagra. One of those early moves was to link Drakkar Noir to racing, and Lavielle took Dale Jr. out of his car and away from the track. The idea was to present him as not just a driver - and to not alienate existing customers who might not be racing enthusiasts.

The campaign's slogan, though, was unabashedly about testosterone: "Feel the Power."

"My perception is we were the first to position him out of uniform and into his lifestyle," Lavielle said. "We showed him in leather jackets."

The campaign, which ended in 2005, was a big success - Drakkar Noir sales increased 46 percent, and the cologne went from being the 18th most popular to the third, Lavielle said.

She and Kelley kept in touch. And when the Earnhardts wanted marketing help, Lavielle jumped at the chance.

Lavielle's arrival came after the resolution of a surreal struggle for Dale Jr., 32, to control his name.

When he made his debut in the NASCAR Busch Series nearly 10 years ago, he let his father run his business affairs, which included the copyright to his name.

Dale Earnhardt Inc., the team for which Dale Jr. races through at least 2007, had the rights to the Dale Earnhardt Jr. name, which included the ability to make T-shirts, hats, jackets and other memorabilia. After Dale Earnhardt died at the Daytona 500 in 2001, his third wife and Dale Jr.'s stepmother, Teresa, took over as president and chief executive of DEI. Dale Jr. struggled with DEI to get the rights to his name before succeeding. Terms weren't disclosed.

Dale Jr. was always paid for products bearing his name, but now, when it comes to merchandising, he has the freedom to pursue his own deals - and a full-time professional to guide him on those calls. A product that uses his No. 8, or his car, must still get approval from DEI.

In part because of his family tree, and because of his laid-back, good-times persona, Dale Jr. is everywhere. In music videos. In the movie "Talladega Nights" as himself. In commercials for Wrangler jeans and a host of other products.

Dale Jr. wants Lavielle to further raise his visibility, but also to grow JR Motorsports brand, Earnhardt's team that has five non-Nextel Cup teams. He's given her a big job: Create an image so iconic that it doesn't need words.

"I would like to create an identity with a logo," he said. "I don't want to have to plaster my name and number on it. Right now we have five or six different things - I want it down to one. I want to use the JR flaming logo, just like Michael Jordan has the guy flying through the air. I want you to see the logo and flip the switch."

Lavielle said her goal is to improve the quality of the merchandise that bears Dale Jr.'s name. Earlier this fall, Lavielle was discussing her plans for the brand when Kelley Earnhardt jokingly showed off a product that was being pitched: A necklace with a large number 8 - Dale Jr.'s number - that flashed red lights.

For Lavielle, it was quite a contrast from overseeing a $160 perfume for Lancome.

"It's a very tricky line," Lavielle said. "Things like the bling-bling are part of the sport, and that's OK. The sport has to speak to the casual and the core fan."