Dale Earnhardt Jr Leaving DEI?
Will Dale Earnhardt Jr really leave his father's company
It has been reported that Dale Earnhardt Jr and Martin Truex Jr will drive for JR Motorsports in 2007.
Dale Earnhardt Jr is expected to announce that he will leave Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, the house that his late father built, following the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season. Martin Truex Jr, Earnhardt Jr’s protégé, is expected to follow NASCAR’s most popular driver out of DEI front doors. JR Motorsports, which was built by Earnhardt Jr, will field two cars and is expected to use Hendrick Motorsports engines and chassis.
Ever since December, questions have arisen regarding Earnhardt Jr’s future with Dale Earnhardt, Inc., especially since he has a rather frosty relationship with his stepmother Teresa Earnhardt, also the owner of DEI. In March, Earnhardt Jr and his sister Kelley Earnhardt Elledge made it publicly clear they were seeking majority ownership, and the goal was to have a deal signed, sealed, and delivered by the end of May. However, in the meantime, DEI has been negotiating a possible merger with Robert Yates Racing, a team supported by Ford. DEI would apparently trade in their bow-ties for blue ovals.
What does this mean for DEI?
Earnhardt Jr’s pending departure could mark the beginning of the end for DEI as we know it. It is highly likely that key members of DEI such as Tony Eury Jr, Tony Eury Sr, and Kevin ‘Bono’ Manion will trail Earnhardt Jr out of dodge, as well as the Budweiser and Bass Pro Shops sponsorship packages.
Teresa Earnhardt’s primary stars will be David Gilliland and Paul Menard, which may force her to accelerate Jeffery Earnhardt’s career. The fourth generation driver is only 17 years old and is currently cutting his teeth driving Late Models.
End of an era
The anticipated announcement will be the end of an era. Several years ago, it was unimaginable for Earnhardt Jr to drive for anyone else other than his father’s organization, but now it is inevitable. Clearly, this is not what the late Dale Earnhardt had in mind when he started this company back in the early 1980’s.
