Dale, Jr. and DEI

I think he's entitled to part ownership based on him being family not as part of his racing contract. Teresa is the one that was there helping Sr. build the company into what it is today. He would have been just as happy racing and nothing more. Really it's HER company now and it should be up to her to decide who, if anyone she wants to share it with. She has Taylor to think of too, not just his adult children. Jr. has his own Busch team so I really don't see the point. Why does he need to be handed ownership of a Nextel team too? If he'd earned it as a driver then maybe but he hasn't yet. As a family member, I think he's already gotten a lot of help on the road to success. Majority ownership of DEI just seems greedy. If he wants his own Nextel team so bad I'm sure he has the means to do it himself. Selfishly I do hope he loses his DEI ride. Richard Childress still owns the rights to #3 and has been reported to say that he won't race it unless it's an Earnhardt driving. So just imagine this scenario...Jr leaves DEI and goes to RCR, you know Budweiser and Wrangler will go with him. Childress will bring back the #3 and it'll be just like the old days: Earnhardt/#3/Wrangler with Budweiser as a bonus. This will leave DEI looking for a new driver. That's where big brother Kerry will finally get his big break. He'll show little brother who's really good. And then with his own son starting the 4th generation of driver's, we'll have an Earhardt father/son combo again.

As far as the comments Teresa has made I don't think it was his driving ABILITIES she was referring to. Jr has missed appearances and interviews and driven half @ssed at practices and qualifying and probably even a few races because of his partying ways and because he's too busy with the playboy lifestyle to put racing first. An interview with say MTV is "way cooler" than a NASCAR one and sleeping off a hang over from the last nights Club E party is more important than practice or whatever. That's what she meant by him needing to choose. He can't be out there partying and looking "cool" while neglecting his responsibilities to his team AND sponsors. As for Kerry, it's just being reported that DEI has signed him and his son. Kerry as a test driver, his son in the development plan. Regardless of what Gorden or anyone else says, DEI won't "fall" if Jr leaves. It isn't Dale Earnhardt Jr. Inc. It's a strong company with or without Jr. Just because he HAS been their top driver doesn't mean he's irreplaceable.

I can see this going both ways. I don't think he's done enough in his career to earn ownership, he's an OK driver, he has huge fame because of his dad. If he wasn't an Earnhardt I don't think he'd be such a star. If he wanted to leave he'd have other teams to go to because of his fame. If I was Teresa it would be hard to say I didn't want my stepson to be in the company that his father built, but would it be worth the hassle? I can't stand him so it would be easy for me to say get rid of him!! But it can't just be a business decision, there's some emotions that come into the decision which makes it more unpredictable, but they've been fighting for quite some time... it's just hard to say.

Maybe his stepmom should not have questioned his desire to be a race car driver in one of her rare appearances in the media as she put it he had to choose between being a driver or a t.v. personality. Well anymore they go hand in hand unless of course you don't need sponsorship for your teams. Well Jr. is a heck of a driver and he's brought a lot of business to DEI. As Jeff Gordon said the other day if Jr. leaves DEI falls.