Quick, what was the number on that license plate?

I think it was 88 -- just like on Dale Junior's No. 88 National Guard / AMP Energy Chevrolet. 

Or maybe not. Cops and traffic cameras have a hard time deciphering the actual license numbers of some of North Carolina's colorful specialty license plates -- especially those rolling NASCAR billboards, which compound the confusion by adding a race-car driver's number, which is not part of the actual license number.

So Mike Robertson, the DMV commissioner, wants to get rid of the colors and convert these pretty and popular plates to the standard blue numerals on white background. (See today's story.) ... [MORE]

Some mysterious signs have sprouted in the vicinity of Duke's East Campus. They say:

Group of 88

Supports Dale Jr.

Say what?

"Group of 88," we're guessing, must refer to the Duke faculty members who signed a notorious advertisement placed in the student newspaper shortly after the Duke lacrosse case exploded in 2006. It was widely criticized as prejudicial in the case.

And could "Dale Jr." refer to anyone than the NASCAR driver named Earnhardt?

Inquiring minds want to know. What's the connection?