Dale Earnhardt Jr. to leave DEI after season
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Dale Earnhardt Jr. will leave the company founded by his late father at the end of the year in a shake-up certain to ignite a bidding war for NASCAR’s most popular driver.
He told Dale Earnhardt Inc. on Thursday that he had decided to make the switch to another team when his contract expires, intent on going to a more competitive team.
This has been coming for quite some time, Dale Jr. and Teresa have been reported to have never gotten along and the death of Dale Earnhardt on February 18, 2001 has only aggravated matters more, as long as Dale Sr. was running things at DEI all was well in the business, but Teresa Earnhardt has alienated a lot of people, and when Dale Jr. goes, so goes her business, regardless of what she says…
Earnhardt had asked for 51 percent ownership of the team now run by his stepmother, Teresa. Negotiations on a contract extension began before the season and have been tense all along. Earnhardt’s sister, Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, had set a deadline to get the deal done by the end of the month.
I don’t necessarily believe that Teresa Earnhardt should have just given Jr. 51% of DEI, if Dale Sr. had wanted him to have it, he should have made that abundantly clear in a will, implied ownership means nothing, DEI is Teresa’s to do with as she pleases, but without Jr., DEI is in deep trouble…
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.”
Disappointed?? You and your ‘absent owner’ and the ‘I know more about racing than you do’ attitude is pretty much what brought this on, and all that “loyalty, integrity and commitment.” bullshit might mean something coming from anyone other than Teresa Earnhardt, but here’s what I think, after Jr. leaves DEI, they will go into a fairly rapid tailspin and will cease to be a ‘name’ team without THE name involved, when Jr. leaves, DEI DIES…
Now, Earnhardt must decide which team is the best fit for him. He said he would like to continue to drive Chevrolets, which will limit his options. It’s also likely his primary sponsor, Budweiser, will move with him to the new team.
Look for Richard Childress to become a big player in this, and I would not be at all surprised to see the #3 car back on the track next year, with Budweiser as the sponsor and Jr. at the wheel…
And personally, after Jr. leaves DEI, I don’t give a damn what happens to DEI, I am a Dale Jr. fan, not a DEI or Teresa Earnhardt fan…
Full Story Here:
Dale Earnhardt Jr. to leave DEI after season
May 10th, 2007 at 11:19 pm
Jr. leaving DEI is, indeed, the end of an era. And I have to agree with you, once he’s gone DEI is going to, at the very least, struggle mightily to maintain any kind of profile.
When Mikey left, I thought that DEI was losing it’s identity - Mikey was always a part of that team, and with him gone, there was only Jr. left - and now that’s gone too.
It would be exciting to see Jr. in the #3 Budweiser car - and driving for RCR. No better way to follow his daddy’s footsteps. I can hardly wait to see how this shakes out.
May 11th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
Teresa Earnhardt, just as a lot of people do, greatly overestimates her importance and knowledge of racing. She simply does not care what her late, great husband would have wanted and frankly, she is a greedy person who thinks it’s all about her. She might as well stay away from the track because all she will ever get is boo’s. Little E WAS DEI and the stupid ass of a woman couldn’t even see it! It will be fun though watching DEI go down the tubes. They already have started that way. They used to win a lot more than they have lately and it will only get worse without JR. Bye bye Teresa.