Dale Junior Poised To Sign His Own Paycheck
Friday, February 9th, 2007 8:54am EST
By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Published on Thunder Lounge.
So we haven’t really commented too much on the DEI Theatrics™ which have been going on as of late, but something recently struck my fancy, and is positioned to make a big strike on the NASCAR world as we know it.
Whether you can believe David Newton or not, he’s written a note about something that I hadn’t been privy to read as of yet, but had suspected all along. OK, yeah, any monkey with a pen could make that claim after the fact, but I haven’t lied to you folks and I’m not about to start. It honestly had been something that crossed my mind a few times over the past couple of months during this whole debacle.
Also on this same topic, before I spill my guts on it, is a recent note about the situation from the Half Vast Staff of Full Throttle on the situation. I direct your attention to the quips Marc and I traded as well.
So now we’re seeing the light. Junior wants DEI. As he commented yesterday during the Speedweeks Media Day, he wants the majority ownership stake of DEI. The company his father built, and built with Dale Junior specifically in mind. Had things progressed on a different time line, we would have eventually seen Dale Earnhardt turn the company over to his son. It was in the cards, and someday would have become a reality.
Some will taut this as Junior being spoiled. I’m sure someone, somewhere is already putting the ink to the rag they write for. While not a member of the Junior Nation myself, remember I try to keep my driver opinions as neutral as possible when writing to give a fair opinion of the situation(s) at hand, I don’t see this as a selfish act by Dale Junior at all.
You see, Junior holds all the cards here. He’s in a poker match with “Step-mommy dearest”, and while she may believe he is bluffing, some times you’ve got to be holding all the cards. In this case, Dale Junior has a royal flush against her pair of deuces. Not to bag on Martin Truex or Paul Menard by any means, both are great guys, but Junior is DEI. It’s why DEI has the pull it does, on top of the deep respect for his Dad.
So what in the world it Dale Junior going to do?
That, dear readers, is the question which has many answers. Here is my sole opinion on the situation.
As mentioned, Junior is holding all the cards and isn’t bluffing. I seriously doubt that this is even bothering him, to be honest. I don’t think it is. Why? Because he is in control, and he knows it. He also knows that a long time friend has his back, and the arms are always open.
Do I honestly think Junior would, at this point, walk out the door while giving a double one-finger salute to Teresa? I don’t think that’s what he wants. However I also don’t think that he’s afraid to do it either. I don’t think he’s scared one bit.
Junior made the comment in recent weeks that he hadn’t been approached by other teams in terms of coming to work for them if he’d like to in 2008. I personally think the reports in the major media that said this was because other team owners knew Junior would again sign with DEI and it was a lost cause are incorrect. It’s not because of their “knowing” Junior would again sign his name to a DEI contract, it was because they know in their hearts that if the contract doesn’t say DEI that there is realistically only one other company whose name would appear on the paper.
If negotiations go astray, and Teresa thinks she can have her minions ignore the seriousness of Junior’s desires, she definitely will find herself looking for a driver for 2008 and Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, and Clint Bowyer will find themselves with a pretty darn cool teammate in the stable over at RCR.
Filed Under: Nascar, Nextel Cup
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