Dale Earnhardt Junior Speaks: So Long DEI
Thursday, May 10th, 2007 12:33pm CDT
By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Published on Thunder Lounge.
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Dale Junior will not be racing under the DEI banner come 2008. To be honest, this shouldn’t be a big surprise.
Dale Earnhardt Jr did not say where he was heading, or what he would be doing starting next season. Only that he will not be returning to DEI
Dale Jr wants to drive for a top tier team, would then consider a second tier team. Finally, it would be the last option to create his own team but if need be they have the time to do it.
Dale Jr says that his vision and DEI’s visions were the same in the long term. [Duh. Win races and Championships.] What the big issue was was how to get there. At 32, Dale said this was the age that his father made his final career decision. Junior projected the impression that he knew it was time to crap or get off the pot.
Junior did not knock DEI. He feels very strongly about the company, and that yes it will become the Championship capable organization his Dad envisioned. Problem being that it’s going to take a few years, the right people, and the right decisions to get it there. Something that he just didn’t feel he could wait on if you read between the lines.
Speaking of reading between the lines, it really seems the big sticking issue was ownership. He said that while the effort was 10 times what it had been in previous contract negotiations, they just couldn’t come to terms. He didn’t want to discuss technical details, but he did say that the two parties offers/desires weren’t even close.
Dale Jr also said that he had sought advice from many people about this, and he even called Darrell Waltrip last night and asked him to fly in to the shop this morning to help calm him down in this difficult decision. DW was present, for the record.
You know, they always say that NASCAR is one big family. DW, love him or not, showed by his actions that this is still true today. Also furthering this was that Junior said he had talked to a lot of friends, from the top of NASCAR, to owners like Rick Hendrick and Richard Childress, to other drivers like Dale Jarrett, Jeff [Gordon], and Bobby Labonte. On the track it one thing, but off the track there is still that big sense of family.
Before we get into more opinion, the rest of the facts presented are this.
Dale Junior is on the table here. No other persons are involved. Not Martin Truex Jr, nor Tony Eury Jr. Junior says that those folks and the folks on his team will make their own decisions, and that he will support them 100 percent.
Dale Jr is not interested in expanding JR Motorsports to support him, either in Busch or Cup. He wants to be the Cup driver, not the Cup owner moving forward. Although he did say it was an option if need be.
He does not know where he will be going. The only reason for this big announcement was that they knew that a decision of this magnitude would not be kept secret for long, and they wanted to keep the rumors out of the media. Not only for the fans, but for the team and the sponsors as well.
Junior did not say if any sponsor would follow him. There still needs to be talks in regards to that.
Also discussed was his car number, ol’ number 8. He admitted that would most likely stay at DEI, that he would try to work something out, but it wasn’t likely.
He also said that he was going to listen to anyone who wanted to talk, but also said he preferred it was a Chevy. Not necessarily because of Chevy’s dominance, but that he just feels more comfortable in a Chevy.
Again, he said he has nothing on the table for 2008, yet.
So that’s the basics of it, in a nut shell. He said a lot, answered a lot of questions and the whole event took almost an hour.
So now we know that he will not be returning to DEI, what’s the deal?
Obviously the reports of running for his own JR Motorsports team with Martin Truex are false. His leaning towards Hendrick were false. Confirmation of heading to RCR wasn’t given. He just simply doesn’t know.
Junior did talk directly to his fans though. He said he knew some of them would be ticked, but asked for their support as he made this decision in regards to his driving career. Thinking he has let the Junior Nation down, by not being in the position in his career to bring home that big Cup trophy.
Heck, I won’t lie. I think Junior is making the decision that is best for himself, his career, and his family. Exactly what he said he wanted to do. It was a good decision, thus far. And I think part of it is that he wants to become his own entity. Not driving for his Dad’s team, and having an occasional press jockey attack his credibility as having a free ride. He wants to drive on his own merit, and prove himself at a new level.
From here, there are tons of options. He said he would listen to anyone that wanted to talk. I’m sure Mikey’s blowing up the lines at the moment, but let’s face reality here. Jr loves Chevy’s. He even said recently that it would take a huge pile of money to get him out of one, the likes of which aren’t present in NASCAR. Which, essentially, is saying you can’t buy me out of a Bow Tie.
With that in mind, what are the options here?
Speed began floating the rumor that Gibbs isn’t happy with the 18, and may be looking to make changes. Great, here goes Silly Season into full swing now. JJ out a Gibbs, Jr in? So and so might be out, Jr in? They’re coming. You know they are. We’ll just have to deal with it.
Junior said his first option would be a top tier team. OK, there are 3 top tier Chevy teams. RCR, Hendrick, and Gibbs.
Hendrick:
- Already at 4 teams
- All drivers signed through at least 2008
Gibbs:
- Stewart and Hamlin not going anywhere
- Speeds pushing a rumor about the #18 already
- Gibbs only has three cars, one below the limit
Richard Childress Racing:
- Only has three of 4 cars allowed
- Solid off track relationship
- Deal would be “as easy as a handshake”
- All the things Jr is looking for, would be offered (support, etc)
So from those comparisons, facts only, only Gibbs or RCR has an apparent available opening.
From the second tier teams, other than DEI, there is Ginn Racing. They only have two cars full time, and an occasion third as Smith competes on occasion when Mark is in the #01. Spot open, but the competition side doesn’t look as appealing as RCR or Gibbs. Granted, Mark Martin could be up towards the top if he wasn’t taking so many “vacations”. But, that’s what Mark wanted and his sticking to it had to be tough when Bristol was coming up.
Who else is really out there? Hall of Fame Racing? An option, and I’m sure Aikman would need new drawers if Junior said OK. But, while the team and effort over there may produce a good environment, competition is sub-par at best. Junior said DEI would take longer than he wanted to wait, at this point without being the Head Honcho, so HoF isn’t really realistic either.
Could something be worked out where Hendrick does everything for the cars, but the banner is still Ginn? An under the table deal, if you will? Literally, it could probably be pulled off and written as an open door philosophy between the teams. But, let’s face it. The current dominant teams at Hendrick have been working together for a long while. They’ve been building for a long time, and they are reaping the benefits of a long line of people in the right place. Rick’s done it with his dealerships, and that same philosophy has served him well in NASCAR. The #25 being the exception, but it has a much higher turn-over rate thus far as compared to the other three teams. Building that success takes time, and not to mention it would be shady. Pushing the gray areas of the mysterious rule book it one thing. Publicly pushing the known four team rule would be suicide, and not something Rick Hendrick would ethically want to do. So, cut that option.
So, realistically, unless Dale Junior really wants to try and start his own effort or help someone start one, it’s Gibbs or RCR as the best looking options at this point. Granted, as Silly Season 2007 was officially kicked off at 11:am EDT this morning, who knows what could happen. If I were a betting man, I’d still put my money on RCR. But that’s my logic talking, and not Junior’s. Although he did say that it was a logical option.
I wonder if this perhaps wasn’t an opportunity to let other teams show him what they have to offer? He knows, while maybe not on paper, what he would have at RCR. Maybe he’s letting the other teams have a chance, and giving notice that if they can put something good on the table that they may have a shot? This way, he can make an informed career decision?
Final thoughts on this for now, even though I have a lot more swimming in the ol’ noggin’ right now, is this.
As past results have shown, when an announcement like this has been made, the remainder of the season has been less than stellar in terms of performance. Dale Jarrett, McMurray, Kurt Busch, and Sadler in recent years and many before then as well. Although, this whole announce sooner rather than towards the end of the season has become more prevalent in the last several years. Blame marketing on that one, as well as the even more urgent need to be competitive in the following season and the earlier you can start the better.
So, just moving up into the last Chase eligible spot after Richmond (13th in owners points), what’s that going to do to the rest of the season?
On top of that, how do we know it wouldn’t have happened anyway? At least to some degree, anyway.
Junior says he knows the history of announcements like this, and is dedicated to his team and himself to mash the gas and race. Then again, that’s what all his predecessors making similar announcements have said as well. We’ll just have to see what happens.
Filed Under: Dale Earnhardt Inc #8, Dale Earnhardt Junior, Drivers, Nascar, Nextel Cup, Teams
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