Hendrick Motorsports/DC Comics

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a stock car! Superman will be taking a break from fighting crime to log some laps around Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend. The new No. 88 Chevrolet look stems from a sponsorship deal between DC Comics and Hendrick Motorsports, the team that backs Nascar stars Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Kasey Kahne.

The National Guard is Earnhardt's big sponsor, but on his car, the Guard's logo takes a bit of a back seat to a giant, muscly Superman figure sporting a classic one-fist-forward flying pose, cape billowing out behind. The popular driver tweeted out a picture showing the unveiling of the new paint scheme. Other photos show a Superman-emblem hat he'll be wearing and a copy of The Daily Planet he's holding -- with his car on the front page.

The Superman car is just the first step in a larger presence for the comics company in Nascar. Expect Green Lantern, The Flash, and Batman to also make appearances. The three-year deal could result in everything from toy cars to comic books featuring the drivers, to other race-worthy paint schemes featuring the superheroes.

The last supergeeky thing to happen in Nascar involved Dogecoin cryptocurrency users pooling together $55,000 to sponsor driver Josh Wise with a Dogecoin car, featuring an adorable Shiba Inu. Wise finished in 20th at Talladega. No doubt, Earnhardt hopes the geek-power of Superman will help drive him to a better finish.

Things will really get interesting if both Batman and Superman cars take to the track in the same race. It could be an exciting precursor to the anticipated action of the upcoming "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" movie.