Posted: Thu May 10, 2007 11:34 pm
Junior Is Leaving His Late Father's Company
"We've decided it's time for us to move on and seek opportunities to drive for another team in 2008."
With that declaration, Dale Earnhardt Jr. began to end his relationship with the only team he had ever driven for, the Dale Earnhardt Inc. team his late father founded in 1998.
"At 32 years of age, the same age my father was when he made his final and most important career decision, it's time for me to compete on a consistent basis and contend for championships now,'' Earnhardt Jr. said at a news conference. "I believe I'd have my father's blessing.''
His decision is sure to set off a bidding war for NASCAR's most popular driver, though Earnhardt said Thursday money will not be the deciding factor in his decision.
"Money's not really the issue. It's not the guy who gives me the biggest paycheck," he said. "There's some things you can't get with money: peace of mind and satisfaction."
The ability to win races and compete for championships will be equally important factors, said Earnhardt, who has 39 race wins (including 22 Busch Series wins) and one Daytona 500 victory since his 1996 debut -- but only two race wins since 2004.
"I feel like over the last year or two I've shortchanged my fans," he said. "I'm hoping to win some races, win some championships to give [the fans] what they pay all that money to go see us for."
Earnhardt, who is in the final year of his contract with DEI, has been negotiating a new deal all season with DEI. Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, Dale Jr.'s sister, is his manager and chief negotiator.
Earnhardt, 32, had said he wanted controlling interest in DEI -- at least 51 percent -- so he could make the necessary decisions to help DEI reach the championship level.
He repeatedly said he thought everything would work out for him to remain at DEI as the driver of the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet. Earnhardt has 17 Cup victories in his career. He is currently 12th in the Nextel Cup points race.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. said though he and DEI worked hard to find common ground, "As negotiations continued one thing became evident -- we both wanted to be in and get to the same place, but we had different visions of how to get there."
It's also possible that Earnhardt will field his own Nextel Cup team from JR Motorsports, where he runs a Busch Series program and several late model cars out of a brand new shop in Mooresville, N.C. But Elledge said driving for another team is the preferred option.
Richard Childress Racing, where the elder Earnhardt won six of his seven championships, always has been considered the most logical place for Junior to go. Childress and Dale Earnhardt were extremely close, and Junior has maintained a relationship with the car owner.
RCR, which owns the No. 3 should Junior ever want to drive it, can add him as the fourth and final driver NASCAR permits each owner. It would team him with Kevin Harvick, who replaced the elder Earnhardt following his 2001 death, and has invited Junior to join the organization.
It's also possible that RCR would lease JR Motorsports its engines should Earnhardt field his own team. RCR already gives JRM its motors.
The wild card could be Joe Gibbs Racing, another powerful three-car Chevy team that would pair him with buddies Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin. Earnhardt and Stewart have worked wonderfully together on restrictor plate tracks, and Earnhardt befriended Hamlin early in his career.
Joe Gibbs is coach of the Washington Redskins, and Earnhardt is a diehard fan. He wore a Redskins cap backward Monday during a test session at Lowe's Motor Speedway, where he expressed frustration over the NASCAR-mandated Car of Tomorrow and admitted DEI can't keep up with Hendrick's COT program.
Source: ESPN
"We've decided it's time for us to move on and seek opportunities to drive for another team in 2008."
With that declaration, Dale Earnhardt Jr. began to end his relationship with the only team he had ever driven for, the Dale Earnhardt Inc. team his late father founded in 1998.
"At 32 years of age, the same age my father was when he made his final and most important career decision, it's time for me to compete on a consistent basis and contend for championships now,'' Earnhardt Jr. said at a news conference. "I believe I'd have my father's blessing.''
His decision is sure to set off a bidding war for NASCAR's most popular driver, though Earnhardt said Thursday money will not be the deciding factor in his decision.
"Money's not really the issue. It's not the guy who gives me the biggest paycheck," he said. "There's some things you can't get with money: peace of mind and satisfaction."
The ability to win races and compete for championships will be equally important factors, said Earnhardt, who has 39 race wins (including 22 Busch Series wins) and one Daytona 500 victory since his 1996 debut -- but only two race wins since 2004.
"I feel like over the last year or two I've shortchanged my fans," he said. "I'm hoping to win some races, win some championships to give [the fans] what they pay all that money to go see us for."
Earnhardt, who is in the final year of his contract with DEI, has been negotiating a new deal all season with DEI. Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, Dale Jr.'s sister, is his manager and chief negotiator.
Earnhardt, 32, had said he wanted controlling interest in DEI -- at least 51 percent -- so he could make the necessary decisions to help DEI reach the championship level.
He repeatedly said he thought everything would work out for him to remain at DEI as the driver of the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet. Earnhardt has 17 Cup victories in his career. He is currently 12th in the Nextel Cup points race.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. said though he and DEI worked hard to find common ground, "As negotiations continued one thing became evident -- we both wanted to be in and get to the same place, but we had different visions of how to get there."
It's also possible that Earnhardt will field his own Nextel Cup team from JR Motorsports, where he runs a Busch Series program and several late model cars out of a brand new shop in Mooresville, N.C. But Elledge said driving for another team is the preferred option.
Richard Childress Racing, where the elder Earnhardt won six of his seven championships, always has been considered the most logical place for Junior to go. Childress and Dale Earnhardt were extremely close, and Junior has maintained a relationship with the car owner.
RCR, which owns the No. 3 should Junior ever want to drive it, can add him as the fourth and final driver NASCAR permits each owner. It would team him with Kevin Harvick, who replaced the elder Earnhardt following his 2001 death, and has invited Junior to join the organization.
It's also possible that RCR would lease JR Motorsports its engines should Earnhardt field his own team. RCR already gives JRM its motors.
The wild card could be Joe Gibbs Racing, another powerful three-car Chevy team that would pair him with buddies Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin. Earnhardt and Stewart have worked wonderfully together on restrictor plate tracks, and Earnhardt befriended Hamlin early in his career.
Joe Gibbs is coach of the Washington Redskins, and Earnhardt is a diehard fan. He wore a Redskins cap backward Monday during a test session at Lowe's Motor Speedway, where he expressed frustration over the NASCAR-mandated Car of Tomorrow and admitted DEI can't keep up with Hendrick's COT program.
Source: ESPN