Is Dale Jr. Leaving DEI??

[shugo77]

If he does leave for his own team, I am sure Budweiser will leave with him. I can't say I would blame him for leaving, DEI is nothing without him and Teresa seems hell bent against giving him the 51% ownership he wants and deserves. I can't wait to hear the announcement tomorrow morning. Story from Jayski below...

Dale Jr. & Truex to JR Motorsports? press conference at 11am/et MORE: Dave Moody reported on Wednesday afternoon's Sirius Speedway that rumor has it that Dale Earnhardt Jr. will announce tomorrow [Thurs, May 10th] at JR Motorsports, that both he and #1-Martin Truex, Jr. will drive in the Nextel Cup Series for JR Motorsports in 2008. Hendrick Motorsports will provide engines for the team. A press conference is planned for 11:00am/et at JR Motorsports headquarters per a PR from the team and SPEED will interrupt regularly scheduled programming to go LIVE from the JR Motorsports race shop at 11:00am/et for a news conference with NASCAR Nextel Cup Series driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.(5-9-2007)
MORE: Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR's biggest star, has been in contract negotiations with his current employer, Dale Earnhardt Inc., and is asking for 51% ownership of the team. But the location of the press conference, at JR Motorsports, which Earnhardt Jr. owns separately from DEI, indicates his future plans might not include DEI. Earnhardt Jr., who was at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Wednesday evening for a sponsor appearance, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he planned to talk about "some ideas I've got for the future" but would not elaborate. Officials from DEI did not return phone calls seeking comment. But Earnhardt Jr., answering questions from fans at an event held by his sponsor Budweiser, indicated that his plans for JR Motorsports might not include adding two Nextel Cup cars. He said his main goal in being a team owner is to be able to help young drivers and mechanics advance their careers. "I don't want the company to get too big," he said. "I've got about 70 employees now, and I don't want to get too many more." He also seemed to squelch another persistent rumor — that he was headed to Richard Childress Racing to drive the #3 Chevrolet made famous by his late father. "'I'd like to do it for a year or two at the end of my career, when I'm 50 or 55," he said.(Atlanta Journal-Constitution)(5-9-2007)

http://www.jayski.com/cupnews.htm#news99

 

[Jimbo]

This looks to be true ...
Where too is all that seems to be up in the air.

Personally, I would rather see him go to another team, Childress would be the obvious one, Hendicks has been mentioned, or building his own team at JR Motorsports, I woud perfer them in the order that I listed ...provided he's leaving.

As for his career, I think Hendricks would be the best choice, as they are probably the best resorcefull team out there.

Jimbo

 

[iceturkee]

the only place for him to go is with childress to drive the number 3. budweiser has already said they would follow him wherever he went. i still have a hard time picturing him as a team owner! lets face it, he isn't his daddy!

 

[shugo77]

This is HUGE news to Nascar. I think any Nascar fan would like to see JR driving for Childress (with or without #3) RCR has returned to become a top notch team again with Burton and Harvick, JR would add to that tremendously, but I doubt it will happen. On the other hand, could you imagine him with Hendrick? Johnson, Gordon & JR? I doubt that will happen either. One thing seems clear, he will probably not drive #8 anymore, I doubt Teresa will give it up. Oh well, we will know for sure in about 90 minutes.

 

[fhsucade07]

I'm probably going to be blasted for this message and I'm sure there will be some people that say I don't know who I say I do. And that's fine with me because I'm just worried about my life right now and can't keep up a fight with anybody that doesn't believe my words. It's also going to be said, "Well, most of that is on the Internet already". Anyways, with that being said, I know a member of Dale Jarrett's crew -- he lives just up the road from me and noticed I was a NASCAR fan (from the Matt Kenseth emblem on my mailbox) and has regularly stopped by to talk whenever he was at home.

Several weeks ago, he reported that it was "all over the garage" that Dale Jr. would leave DEI and (taking Budweiser with him) would take over the famed #3 at RCR. The only other thing he could see happening, at that point, was Mears being booted from the 25 and Jr. coming in. (I can't see that happening because the National Guard is a high-dollar sponsor and Mears has a multi-year contract; although most owners (including me -- if I were one) would quickly find a way out of his contract to hire Jr). That was several weeks ago and the name of Martin Truex never once came up.

This past Tuesday (and all of this was reported yesterday), he indicated that Dale Jr. was, in fact, leaving DEI due to differences with Teresa (many of which go deeper than the 51% issue) according to him. He said on that day that Martin Truex Jr. would leave DEI (along with Bass Pro Shops) when Jr. and Budweiser left DEI. According to him, it might be car 81 but it WILL be sponsored by Budweiser -- according to his sources, whoever they may be. He then indicated that RCR had shown some interest in Truex (as they had Jr) but would get neither of the two and Truex would drive for Dale Jr. He then said that Dale Jr. indicated he didn't want the team to get "too big".

It's nothing new, I know, but take it for what it's worth. I personally took it with a grain of salt because I'm not sure Dale Jarrett's team members would know much of anything about all of this. I do know, though, that he previously was a member of the #32 Tide team and was the first person to tell me the points system would change (before it was ever even a rumor on the internet).

Cade

 

[dfergie]

It would be nice to see #3 back in action with Jr. but I think y'all are right...

 

[fhsucade07]

I think you'll see it one day. I respect him and all, but I'm not certain starting a new team is the right thing to do. You are suspect to going home from all of the people that have provisionals in the event that you don't qualify well. Somebody will occupy the champion provisional for so long (which takes another spot away) and it'll be Dale Jarrett that does that -- it's essentially the only way he made most of the races this year.

From there, owner-drivers don't typically fare too well in the ranks. I know he does well in the Busch series with a format like that, but Nextel Cup is just too tough with teams like Hendrick, Roush, and Childress running circles around most everybody.

Cade

 

[shugo77]

I think you'll see it one day. I respect him and all, but I'm not certain starting a new team is the right thing to do. You are suspect to going home from all of the people that have provisionals in the event that you don't qualify well. Somebody will occupy the champion provisional for so long (which takes another spot away) and it'll be Dale Jarrett that does that -- it's essentially the only way he made most of the races this year.

From there, owner-drivers don't typically fare too well in the ranks. I know he does well in the Busch series with a format like that, but Nextel Cup is just too tough with teams like Hendrick, Roush, and Childress running circles around most everybody.

Cade

I would rather JR not be an owner/driver, it can be very hard. That's why Dale Sr. was so smart, he started his own team but left himself driving for another team. Look what happened to Kyle Petty, he was successful until he started his own team, same with Darrell Waltrip and Bill Elliot.

 

[iceturkee]

okay, news is official jr has parted ways with dei, leaving his options for next season open....stay tuned!

 

[shugo77]

So, it is looking like he wil be a free agent. This will create more speculation than Nascar has seen in quite some time. It is possible that he is bluffing and may still end up with DEI, but by the press release DEI just put out, I doubt it. I think he will end up with one of these three teams... Gibbs, Childress, or Hendricks...forget even thinking that Hendricks doesn't have room, they can make room for JR, or they are idiots. If I was Casey Mears, I would be a little concerned for my job. Childress has room for a fourth driver, and Gibbs could make room as well. Remember a few races back, JR was friving Kyle Bush's car at the end of a race, could have been sort of a job interview type thing.

 

[iceturkee]

any three of those teams would be a good fit for junior. starting his own cup team at this time isn't in his best interest, imho!

as much as i didn't like his dad, i still believe that junior driving the black number 3, even sponsorsed by budweiser, would send chills down a lot of fans spines!!

 

[fhsucade07]

any three of those teams would be a good fit for junior. starting his own cup team at this time isn't in his best interest, imho!

as much as i didn't like his dad, i still believe that junior driving the black number 3, even sponsorsed by budweiser, would send chills down a lot of fans spines!!

MY GOD!! I'd love to see that (and I wasn't even a fan of his father). It just shows my source with Dale Jarrett's team was probably wrong. Like I said, take everything with a grain of salt. This is NOBODY but ME talking, but I would expect UPS to try and sign with another team by next season (I know Biffle needs a sponsor).

Cade

 

[shugo77]

Looks like Budweiser is going to follow Jr. wherever HE goes...from Jayski.com

Budweiser Statement: Statement from Tony Ponturo, Vice President, Global Media and Sports Marketing, Anheuser-Busch, Inc. Regarding Dale Earnhardt Jr's decision to leave Dale Earnhardt Inc. at the end of the 2007 Nextel Cup season: "Budweiser, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Dale Earnhardt Inc. have enjoyed a great relationship since 1999. Dale Jr., and his father before him, have been excellent and loyal ambassadors for our company and the sport of NASCAR. Budweiser and JR Motorsports have an agreement in place to ensure Dale Jr. will continue to personally represent Budweiser through 2008, and we look forward to discussing our future with Dale Jr. and DEI in the weeks ahead."(fingerprint inc./Bud Racing PR)(5-10-2007)

 

[iceturkee]

funny, i had this crazy thought about dj signing with dei next season. god only knows what the state of michael waltrip racing will be in by the end of 2007!

 

[shugo77]

funny, i had this crazy thought about dj signing with dei next season. god only knows what the state of michael waltrip racing will be in by the end of 2007!

Toyota's entry into Nextel Cup has been nothing short of a complete disaster. Poor Michael Waltrip, he knew it would be tough but not this tough, his cars stink. And I have been wondering myself if DJ is regretting leaving Yates, and if he will be there next year. Toyota needs to get their act together or their Nextel Cup existence will be short lived. Remember when Dodge returned to Cup? They came out of the gate contending for wins almost instantly. Toyota must be completely embarassed.

 

[bchris2597]

I think JR will be driving for either RCR or Joe Gibbs Racing next year. I think RCR because of his dad and the mere shock value to see an Earnhardt in the 3. Joe Gibbs has a shot due to JR close relationship with Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin....not to mention he's a Redskins fan and idolizes Joe Gibbs. I did hear rumor that Ginn Racing may take a shot at him.....you know that Ginn will spend the money to get himself an elite driver and a championship. It will be interesting to watch this unfold.

 

[Ramy]

I figured this would happen, because Teresa doesn't want to give any control up at all, unless she makes a ton of money.

 

[iceturkee]

look what mark martin has done in ginn's car, anything is possible!

 

[fhsucade07]

In regards to Toyota, though, I really believe David Ruetiman has some talent -- it's just the equipment.

 

[shugo77]

In regards to Toyota, though, I really believe David Ruetiman has some talent -- it's just the equipment.

I am starting to think Ruetiman might be the best driver in Nextel cup, he is the only MWR driver making the races on time. Who would've ever thought that before the season started.