Earnhardt Jr. featured on ESPN The Magazine 10th anniversary cover

Five-time NASCAR Most Popular Driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. is among a select group of professional sports stars featured on unique covers for ESPN The Magazine's 10th anniversary issue, released this week.

The double-sided special edition features 10 covers, five on each side and in random order. The front half highlights athletes who have dominated their respective sport in the last 10 years -- baseball's Ichiro Suzuki, NFL running back LaDainian Tomlinson, pro basketball player Tim Duncan, tennis sisters Venus and Serena Williams, and professional snowboarder Shaun White. The flip side is devoted to athletes believed to shine over the next 10 years -- Earnhardt Jr., pro basketball player LeBron James, hockey star Sidney Crosby, New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez and NFL quarterback Vince Young.

Earnhardt Jr.'s cover was shot by photographer Matt Jones, who shows the driver not in typical NASCAR attire but in a single-breasted Armani suit and tie. This marks the third time Earnhardt Jr. has appeared on the cover of ESPN The Magazine. He and Matt Kenseth shared the cover for the 1999 NASCAR Preview, and he alone was the subject of a cover story in the Feb. 18, 2002 edition. Read the rest of the article here.