EddyCurr

Earnhardt Jr. announces he will switch teams

Thought he might be going to F1 ...

EddyCurr

In a statement, Teresa Earnhardt said DEI will thrive following Junior's announcement.

"While we are very disappointed that Dale Jr. has chosen to leave the family business, we remain excited about our company's future," she said. "Dale and I built this company to be a championship contender, and those principles still apply. Dale Earnhardt Inc. will win. ... This company has a great legacy and a bright future, built on loyalty, integrity and commitment."

BrianCunningham

Wonder what's behind this?

$$$? or family issues?

AU N EGL

YES. Think Jr though HE should have had DEI, or a sizable interest.

mwvettec5

It's been known for quite some time that JR was negotiating for controlling interest of DEI.

The kid does NOT appear to have a giant ego and one can speculate that Dale SR meant for his son to be in charge of his operation sometime in the future.

It's also known that there's BIG friction between JR's sister and his stepmom, Theresa.

Another well known fact is the very large turnover of employees at DEI - MANY of Dale Senior's hires have left since Theresa took control.

Junior made it VERY clear that $$$ were not the big issue.

It will be interesting to see how many people leave DEI over the next months:

Tony Eury (JR's cousin)
Tony SR (JR's uncle & first crew chief)
Steve Hmiel (LONG time friend of Dale Sr and current comp. director)

Many long time Earnhardt fans have seen this coming since Senior's death, Junior's rapid growth in majurity and Theresa's "distant" approach to NASACR racing.

I think Junior comes out on top of this !!!

davidfarmer

it was a pretty teary-eyed press conference. Dale Jr almost mananged to speak English in complete sentences a few times.....almost.

Family can really suck.....and as little as I care about NASCAR, it is a shame DJ can't race for his fathers team.

BuckeyeZ06

David,

As a person who runs his family's business, I see the potential pitfalls in this type of arrangement. Thankfully things are goinf pretty smoothly, but not all family businesses can say the same.

Yes, it is a shame the DE Jr isn't racing for his father's team, but neither did his father. Remember, DE was an RCR driver even though his son drove for him.

danswofford

Dale has not been doing well enough considering the huge sponsorship deals he has with Bud and Chevy. I think his team is mismanaged and he expects more and more means moving elsewhere.

davidfarmer

I think DE built that business for his kids, not his wife. He didn't need to start a racing team (as Buckeye points out), but it seems to me his goal was to start a legacy for his kids.

Again, I don't really care either way, but I personally think that was DE's wish.

Racin Z06

The Toyota team needs a driver.

Dave

Falcon

and an owner!

CF6873

Unfortunately he could not convince the wife to put it in the will.

Bink

Senior said many times the Mrs. had the brains for Money. She put him into memorabilia heavily....early. She set up DEI.

Maybe Theresa doesn't realize her golden goose is gone and the heir apparent is about to leave, also.

Maybe Junior is fulfilling current contractual arrangements with plans for the future.......Goodwrench, Wrangler and Bud?

Who wouldn't give Little E. 51% of a new team (ala Gordon-Hendricks and/with driver Jimmie Johnson) considering the sponsorship and proven abilities to compete in Nascar?

I think Junior and Kelley probably have had a deal hammered out for a long time.

Mikelly

You guys are missing a serious mark here... Many at DEI, Including Dale Sr. commented that Theresa was the reason that DEI had become so successful. Her marketing savey realy catepolted Earnhardt in the late 90s.

Although it's been a well known fact that Theresa Earnhardt doesn't have a great relationship with the other members of the family, she hasn't done a bad job retaining control. Her style may not mix well with others, but I think she'll retain control for some time to come... Uness she decides the negative press isn't worth it.

I think she's got the stones to handle the pressure...

Mike

JDIllon

Personally I think Tony Stewart had it right, when he said DEI is just a large museum without JR. I think JR can do better someplace else. JD

toolman44092

I predict Jr. drives the black # 3 Bud car for Childress.

I think Goodwrench will have some involvement, but Bud is too powerful a sponser to just let walk.

Don't you think it was a coincidence that Goodwrench left Harvick this year?

Who knows?

BFoster

I believe it's a great move for JR, DEI has lost it's competitive edge the last couple of years. They can't even win restrictor plate races, they have just flat fallen on their face.

I would love to see JR at RCR, look what they've done for Jeff Burton.

I would also like to see JR and Tony Stewart hook up at Gibbs, those two have always worked well together.

I can't imagine him going to Hendrick, even though they are most definitely on top of the world right now.

Who knows, but either way good move Dale Jr.

Bink

Yep, and they're promoting the "3" car.

I don't think Little E .will go to Hendrick....I think Hendrick was brilliant in giving J. Gordon the support for Jimmie's 48 team. I believe Jeff G. and Hendrick own the 48.
It would make sense for an "Owner" to support Jr. in his own team........RCR?

xsiveone

I thought that he had already "switched teams".

Mikelly

Well it's been long rumored that Jr. would eventually drive the #3 car. I just don't know if this has all been pre-arranged in the background, and his "negotiations" with DEI nothing more than a distraction from the real intent. But I still think DEI will continue and be a middle of pack contendor. Eventually Teresa may bag it and decide she's made enough money in this effort, and go off to do "other" things... Wouldn't surprise me either way.

Mike