[Hassan]

Hello...suup every1

I've heard so much rumorz about Dale Jrz future...will he stay with DEI or move to a new team prolly RCR??, and do u all think we might see Jr in the no. 3 GM Goodwrench Chevy??

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by Hassan

Hello...suup every1

I've heard so much rumorz about Dale Jrz future...will he stay with DEI or move to a new team prolly RCR??, and do u all think we might see Jr in the no. 3 GM Goodwrench Chevy??

Welcome to the group, Hassan.

IRT your question, a couple of weeks ago I posted my predictions of who will be in the playoffs and what NASCAR headlines we MIGHT see in 2007. It's kind of germane to your question. Here's a reprint:

Racing headlines we might see:
================================================== =======
Twelve in Chase

Dale Junior elects not to renew DEI contract for 2008

DEI announces attractive buyout offer by John Menard; sale appears eminent.

Honda announces plans to enter NASCAR in 2010
Any other brave souls out there?
================================================== ========
I know that Earnhardt Minor is a nice kid and is quite likeable. I also know that he is the media's darling and many of those who follow him aren't race fans; they're Junior fans. (Evidence of this. watch the stands if, early in the race, Junior either goes out or has serious mechanical problem and falls to the back of the field. It looks like a legion of red army ants leaving the stands!)

This prediction is going to rub A LOT OF PEOPLE the wrong way but I'll call it like I see it. IF Junior decides to leave DEI (I believe he has an emotional tie to the organization but his repeated hesitancy to sign contracts makes me wonder if that tie is as strong as his many fans would hope), he'll go to the highest bidder. Believe me, IF he bails from DEI, they'll be standing in line to cross Junior's palms with silver. When this happen there is only one serious player, Rick (The Felon) Hendrick. I believe that it would be a distinct possibility that Junior could return Budweiser to HMS and would join the lovable group-grope with Jeffie-Pooh, Jimmy, Kyle, and maybe Casey.

Have I completely offended anyone yet? <g>

I'm sorry but Junior is beginning to remind me of Kyle Petty in 1995-1996. In 1994 he was competitive with Felix Sabates' Mello-Yellow Pontiac, and was a threat to win in virtually every race, finishing 15th in points. Then he got caught up in his own hype, lose focus, tried to mix a C&W singing career with his racing one, began to use the family name as an entree into other than racing society and he went into a tailspin which he never really pulled out of. He had a so-so year in 1997 but other than that, since 1994 Kyle's had an average season finish of 31st place.

It takes a Hell of a strong person to mix a successful career with rock-start status in professional sports. Sorry, but I'm just not sure that Dale Earnhardt Junior is as strong, in this respect, as his dad was.

For the record, I hope that he is. Maybe this season will tell?

[99team]

Who cares. Dale Jr. is a two-bit race car driver. He's good but not great, and personally It wouldn't break my heart to see him retire. as far as driving the #3 Goodwrench car, It will never happen full time. Maybe the 3 car but Goodwrench pulled their sponsorship out of NASCAR.

[LSC9901]

Originally Posted by 99team

Who cares. Dale Jr. is a two-bit race car driver. He's good but not great, and personally It wouldn't break my heart to see him retire. as far as driving the #3 Goodwrench car, It will never happen full time. Maybe the 3 car but Goodwrench pulled their sponsorship out of NASCAR.

Never say never !!!! Starnger things have happened. Goodwrench more than likely pulled out for overall financial reasons. Like everything else it all goes in cycles. Someday the Big 3 manufacturers will awaken to the needs of the general public and will once again rise to the top. When that happens they may be more willing to spend some money in NASCAR. If the sun and the moon are properly aligned Jr. could very well be the new #3 GM Goodwrench driver. Likely ??? Probably not, but not impossible.

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by 99team

Who cares. Dale Jr. is a two-bit race car driver. He's good but not great, and personally It wouldn't break my heart to see him retire. as far as driving the #3 Goodwrench car, It will never happen full time. Maybe the 3 car but Goodwrench pulled their sponsorship out of NASCAR.

"Two-bit driver...?" I'm definately not in his corner but "two-bit" might be a bit harsh?

FYI, I don't believe Goodwrench pulled thier sponsorship out of NASCAR. I think they went from a primary sponsor to "just another decal" sponsor, like Goodyear, Jessel, Busch, etc., etc.

[LSC9901]

Lord knows I'm not a fan of any driver in particular and there are many I don't care for at all but when you look at Jr.'s record I think it stands up against many drivers in cup racing and even makes many of them on a lower rung of the ladder when you compare them.

[Hassan]

Richard Childress aknowledged the possibility of a fourth team and that its possible to field a car for Junior, if everything goes just like he wanted we might hear the announcment later this year.

[LSC9901]

Originally Posted by Hassan

Richard Childress aknowledged the possibility of a fourth team and that its possible to field a car for Junior, if everything goes just like he wanted we might hear the announcment later this year.

Where did you read that ?? I'd like to follow up on that.

[Bob Tanner]

Junior held court with the press Monday and it was replayed in its entirety Tuesday afternoon. Our boy took some pretty direct shots at Teresa. He inferred that she was much more involved in making money off of Dale Earnhardt (Sr.) Enterprises than she was in making DEI, in general, and Junior, specifically, a success in NASCAR.

Junior made several references which made it seem (to the radio show host, Dave Moody, and to me) that Junior wants more control over the DEI teams and a bigger slice of the profits acquired by DEI. I believe the quote was: "I want the same things the other [more successful] teams have."

He also made reference to the fact that Teresa is his STEPmother and NOT his mother. He said that their relationship is no different now than the way it was as he was growing up, no better and no worse?

MY personal impression, for what that's worth which is exactly what you pay for it; NOTHING, is that Junior has a lot of the Jeremy Mayfield in him and apparently likes to air dirty, personal laundry to the media. I also believe that Junior forgets that he wasn't the one who built DEI, it was his father and Sr's wife, Teresa. He also seems to conveniently forget that if his last name wasn't Earnhardt, and if that tragic accident didn't happen in 2001, he'd probably be just another schlump out there, working at a Jiffy-Lube and driving late models on some 1/2-mile track somewhere in North Carolina.

I'd currently give his chances of staying at DEI at about 60% or slightly higher. I believe the biggest factor in the negotiations will be Anheiser-Busch; they have a lot of money invested in both Junior and DEI, and I don't think they'll let Junior pull the trigger easily.

All in all, I think my prophecy of a month ago is looking pretty good.

[LSC9901]

I guess the question that begs to be asked right now is how faithful to DEI is Budweiser ? Would they go with Jr. to RCR if the offer was made ? I can't think of one sponsor out there that wouldn't grab at a chance to put their logo on a #3 car with an Earnhardt in it. I would think it would be big bucks for everyone.

Does Jr. hold any ownership in DEI ?

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by LSC9901

I guess the question that begs to be asked right now is how faithful to DEI is Budweiser ? Would they go with Jr. to RCR if the offer was made ? I can't think of one sponsor out there that wouldn't grab at a chance to put their logo on a #3 car with an Earnhardt in it. I would think it would be big bucks for everyone.

Does Jr. hold any ownership in DEI ?

Last question first:
That subject was discussed on the radio program. It appears that the terms of Dale Senior's will are kept in the same lock box that the details of the driver's contract terms with their owners is kept. BIG secret (rightly so, IMNSVHO). However, I really doubt that Sr. wasn't generous with his three kids and I'd be willing to bet that all three have a minority stake in DEI, to some degree.

IRT your first question, unfortunately I feel that Junior is an example of his generation and feels that commitment to an organization is situational. IT depends on (a) Do they make him feel good? (b) Are they doing what HE feels is necessary to make him successful? (c) What's in it for him?

I believe Junior has marginal allegiance to DEI and the only allegiance he'd have to RCR would be IF Richard crossed his palm with more silver than another team owner. It looks to me that Teresa has him pegged and the kid believes his own press clippings and all the warm and fuzzy's his "posse" gives him. (When I think of "posse" in this context, the word "fungus" immediately springs to mind) Because of his legion of Red Army Ants, I believe him thinks DEI in particular and NA$CAR in general revolves around him.

I still think "two-bit" is a bit harsh; I like "egomanical" better.

[LSC9901]

As I have said so many times before about professional sports ... it's all about the money. Like NAPA did with Waltrip, it wouldn't surprise me to see Bud follow Jr. or vice versa. They no doubt are making big bucks for one another and together they make a great fit with the fans of today.

Here's yet another point to ponder. If Jr. should ever leave DEI what will happen to the organization ??? Will they be able to maintain their place with lesser drivers and crew members ???

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by LSC9901

Here's yet another point to ponder. If Jr. should ever leave DEI what will happen to the organization ??? Will they be able to maintain their place with lesser drivers and crew members ???

The racing media would like us to believe that Dale Earnhardt Jr. IS DEI and an irreplaceable cog in NASCAR's wheel.

I heard many of the same questions when Bill France Sr. kicked Curtis Turner (then NASCAR's most popular driver) out of NASCAR because of union organizing. People also responded much the same IRT Fireball Roberts, Richard Petty and Dale Sr. IRT Junior and DEI's future: Teresa is a savvy CEO and knows what she's doing. The military proved to me, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that NO ONE is irreplaceable. I believe that sentence is germane in this subject.

[LSC9901]

Originally Posted by Bob Tanner

NO ONE is irreplaceable. I believe that sentence is germane in this subject.

Agreed but when the pool of players is only so big and only so many of them have useable experience, it would seem to me, and probably only me, that the level of ability and cohesiveness diminishes the more it is stretched. It could be something as small as tenths of a second in the pits but as we all know that can be the difference between 1st and 5th.

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by LSC9901

Agreed but when the pool of players is only so big and only so many of them have useable experience, it would seem to me, and probably only me, that the level of ability and cohesiveness diminishes the more it is stretched. It could be something as small as tenths of a second in the pits but as we all know that can be the difference between 1st and 5th.

We are of the same mind. Unfortunately your mention of the size of the pool of players brings us back to yet another long-standing debate/argument; are Cup Raiders and their owners and team members participating in the Series formerly known as BGN, now Cup Lite, creating a shortage of qualified people available to the Cup Series? IS a bigger, seemingly more popular, more televised racing series really a "Better" series?

I am nothing if not an instigator.