Alittle Dale Jr News..

[Cindy_AL]

From Jayski:

Earnhardt Still Wants Majority Ownership: #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr. has not backed down from his demand for majority ownership in his late father's company, his sister said Tuesday. "Fifty-one (percent) is the right number because that gives us control," said Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, Junior's sister and business manager. "We'll take 75 or 95 or whatever we work out. At the end of the day, 51 gives you control. "And we want control." Earnhardt is in the final year of his contract with Dale Earnhardt Inc. and has made owning a share of the company a major issue of his negotiations. He raised the stakes even higher in February when he said he actually wanted 51 percent of DEI - not just a piece of the team. Earnhardt Elledge said the ownership stake was not the breaking point of negotiations, but that time could run out for a new agreement to be reached. [DEI President Max] Siegel has said he believes a decision can be made by May, and Earnhardt Elledge said the next two months are crucial. Associated Press(4-11-2007)

Earnhardt Says JR Motorsports Could Move to Cup at Some Point: Dale Earnhardt Jr. indicated in the past that he didn't envision his JR Motorsports team going Nextel Cup racing. But now that he's unveiled a new shop for his Busch and Late Model teams, well, he could envision it "years down the road." "It was just so, so far down the road, it was ridiculous to even think about [Cup racing] or dream about it," Earnhardt Jr. said Tuesday during an open house of the new shop. "Being closer and closer to something like that being a reality, it's always a possibility." Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, who handles Earnhardt Jr.'s business affairs, was asked if Earnhardt Jr. could be the team's driver in Nextel Cup. Her answer: "No way." But Earnhardt Jr. says ... "With any company like ours, the sky's the limit," he said. "You just have to maximize your opportunities and make sure you're picking the right ones, working with the right people." (4-11-2007)

[Sparky1329]

Good for Jr! I wish him well.

[RaceFanStan]

Ever notice that the more a pot of poo is stirred, the more it stinks ? http://www.motorsportforum.com/forums/images/icons/hmph.gif

[Sparky1329]

Ever notice that the more a pot of poo is stirred, the more it stinks ? http://www.motorsportforum.com/forums/images/icons/hmph.gif


That's very true but I suspect that Jr will come out of this pot smelling like a rose. :D

[RaceFanStan]

:arrow: Dale Earnhardt Jr ISN'T as good as he thinks he is ... http://www.motorsportforum.com/forums/images/icons/rolleyes.gif
:arrow: Dale Jr consistantly struggles to make the top 10 & usually fails ! http://www.motorsportforum.com/forums/images/icons/rolleyes.gif
Dale Jr is Busch Series material at best, I would tell him to WALK ! http://www.motorsportforum.com/forums/images/icons/tongue-anim.gif

[trumperZ06]

:arrow: Dale Earnhardt Jr ISN'T as good as he thinks he is ...
Dale Jr is Busch Series material at best, I would tell him to WALK ! http://www.motorsportforum.com/forums/images/icons/tongue-anim.gif

:dozey: And along with Jr's exit there goes... Budweiser, GM, and a whole lot of additional endorsements !!! Not to mention... any likely chance of DEI having a driver in the chase.

[Hoss Ghoul]

:arrow: Dale Earnhardt Jr ISN'T as good as he thinks he is ... http://www.motorsportforum.com/forums/images/icons/rolleyes.gif
:arrow: Dale Jr consistantly struggles to make the top 10 & usually fails ! http://www.motorsportforum.com/forums/images/icons/rolleyes.gif
Dale Jr is Busch Series material at best, I would tell him to WALK ! http://www.motorsportforum.com/forums/images/icons/tongue-anim.gif

You're kidding right?

The stats alone show this to be bull. Over the last 5 years Earnhardt Jr. is one of the top performing drivers in the entire series. One can only imagine how much better he'd have done in an HMS or Gibbs ride.

[muggle not]

You're kidding right?

The stats alone show this to be bull. Over the last 5 years Earnhardt Jr. is one of the top performing drivers in the entire series. One can only imagine how much better he'd have done in an HMS or Gibbs ride.

No question. Jr is undoubtedly one of the top 10 drivers "at least' in Nascar and probably much better than that, possibly top 5. And when you are a top 10 driver you can win the Championship in any given year. He will get control of DEI and then maybe we will see some improvement in their operation.

It would be a stupid business decision to let him go.

[RaceFanStan]

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g202/gr8link/orn/00.gif

[dont_be_jack]

While it would be a stupid decision to let him go, I definitely see it happening. And I can easily see him going down the same road as Mikey has...

[harvick#1]

I wouldn't care if Jr. left the series period. I'm tired of him. stick to racing or just do commercials.

everytime you watch a race, at least 20 Jr. commercials come on :mad:

hes like Patrick, she has to do one or the other (race or be a model) not both.

plus hes not in the top 10 best drivers anymore. If he went to RCR right now, he'd I think will be the 4th best Driver out of the group, Burton and Harvick are well ahead of him and even Bowyer is getting more and more consistent

[dont_be_jack]

I wouldn't care if Jr. left the series period. I'm tired of him. stick to racing or just do commercials.

everytime you watch a race, at least 20 Jr. commercials come on :mad:

hes like Patrick, she has to do one or the other (race or be a model) not both.

plus hes not in the top 10 best drivers anymore. If he went to RCR right now, he'd I think will be the 4th best Driver out of the group, Burton and Harvick are well ahead of him and even Bowyer is getting more and more consistent

I have to agree with you. His racing was improving before his father's unfortunate death and it's fluttered a bit since then. Part of the blame can be placed on him being such a "superstar" and part of it on DEI for not giving him good equipment.

[Hoss Ghoul]

You guys are out to lunch, Jr. is in the top 10 of nearly every major statistical category in NASCAR over the last 5 years.

Ranking among Cup driver from 2002-2007:

Wins: 6th
Top 5's: 5th
Top 10's: 5th
Laps Led: 4th
Avg. Start: 8th
Avg. Finish: 7th
Top 5%: 5th
Top 10%: 6th

Those are the facts. Not based on how much you like or don't like TV ads and media exposure.

[R. Mears]

Just think if Jr. got PO'd and left DEI or just didn't have his contract renewed(I can't see it happening)but lets say it does.
I think it would be the begining of the end for Jr. and DEI as well as having some severe negative impact on the already ailing GM auto business. Mike Waltrip leaving has already impacted DEI as well as his own career as we all know.
Then would this scenario lead to more Toyota/foriegn cars in NASCAR? Ouch!!!

[Haulin'AssAndTurnin Left]

Jr is one of the best drivers out there week in week out. and makes the top ten most weeks in cars that are no way near as good as Hendrick,Gibbs and RCR. I think it would be good for him to leave DEI and move to RCR and get into cars that are engineered better. whether it will happen or not is another thing.

[harvick#1]

I think it would be the begining of the end for Jr. and DEI as well as having some severe negative impact on the already ailing GM auto business. Mike Waltrip leaving has already impacted DEI as well as his own career as we all know.
Then would this scenario lead to more Toyota/foriegn cars in NASCAR? Ouch!!!

no because he would most likely go to RCR in a Chevy. so it won't hurt Chevy at all.

plus The Fusion is made in Mexico I thought. most all Toyota's are made in a America at least

[BenRoethig]

I wouldn't care if Jr. left the series period. I'm tired of him. stick to racing or just do commercials.

everytime you watch a race, at least 20 Jr. commercials come on :mad:

hes like Patrick, she has to do one or the other (race or be a model) not both.

plus hes not in the top 10 best drivers anymore. If he went to RCR right now, he'd I think will be the 4th best Driver out of the group, Burton and Harvick are well ahead of him and even Bowyer is getting more and more consistent

Bowyer, Harvick, and Burton have consistently good equipment. DEI (more like TEI at this stage) is at best backmarker team without junior. Teresa has pretty much dismantled everything that Dale Sr. tried so hard to build.

[Cindy_AL]

You guys are out to lunch, Jr. is in the top 10 of nearly every major statistical category in NASCAR over the last 5 years.

Ranking among Cup driver from 2002-2007:

Wins: 6th
Top 5's: 5th
Top 10's: 5th
Laps Led: 4th
Avg. Start: 8th
Avg. Finish: 7th
Top 5%: 5th
Top 10%: 6th

Those are the facts. Not based on how much you like or don't like TV ads and media exposure.

Thats what I love about you Hoss.... can always count on you to tell it like it is. :laugh: :up:

[harvick#1]

Bowyer, Harvick, and Burton have consistently good equipment. DEI (more like TEI at this stage) is at best backmarker team without junior. Teresa has pretty much dismantled everything that Dale Sr. tried so hard to build.

not really RCR really struggled with their operation in 2002, 2004, and 2005.

2006 was the first real season that all three cars were competitive. it was hard work at RCR that finally got themselves back into contention.

something DEI has to do

[RaceFanStan]

You guys are out to lunch, Jr. is in the top 10 of nearly every major statistical category in NASCAR over the last 5 years.

Ranking among Cup driver from 2002-2007:

Wins: 6th
Top 5's: 5th
Top 10's: 5th
Laps Led: 4th
Avg. Start: 8th
Avg. Finish: 7th
Top 5%: 5th
Top 10%: 6th

Those are the facts. Not based on how much you like or don't like TV ads and media exposure.
That explains why he ISN'T number one. Thanks ! http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g202/gr8link/orn/00.gif

[muggle not]

actually, Hoss's numbers show why Jr is one of the top 5 or as a minimum top 10 driver. Non Jr fans can criticize all they want but the numbers are there for everyone to see.

[Sparky1329]

Bowyer, Harvick, and Burton have consistently good equipment. DEI (more like TEI at this stage) is at best backmarker team without junior. Teresa has pretty much dismantled everything that Dale Sr. tried so hard to build.


This is just my opinion but I think Dale Jr wants to get control of the racing side of things more than the whole company, The race shop needs some well-directed bucks channeled in for personnel and equipment and Teresa holds the purse strings very tightly. Speed costs money.

[Hoss Ghoul]

Thats what I love about you Hoss.... can always count on you to tell it like it is. :laugh: :up:

Thanks Cindy, good to see you around. :wave:

[muggle not]

This is just my opinion but I think Dale Jr wants to get control of the racing side of things more than the whole company, The race shop needs some well-directed bucks channeled in for personnel and equipment and Teresa holds the purse strings very tightly. Speed costs money.

Yeah, I think I agree. She is a little like King Richard. Tight with the pennies.

[Mark in Oshawa]

It is really simple. Those who don't like Jr. resent his fight for control with Teresa, who many Earnhardt Sr. Fans think can do no wrong, and they also don't think he is that good a driver that does too many commercials. Those who like Earnhardt Jr. think he can do no wrong and should own a piece of the team.

Ok, put me in the latter. I like the guy, and if he had been with Gibbs or Hendrick, he would have won a championship by now. Lets be blunt here, the only place DEI ever was dominent in was for about 3 years on the superspeedways. That is 4 races a year, yet Jr. has stayed in or about the top 10 every year save one in the last 5. I would have to say he belongs. Now does he deserve to own a piece of the team? Well, he didn't ask to be as popular as he has become, but he will use it to get as much as he can, the same every other driver would if opportunity presented itself. He is tired of not having what he needs to win that championship that he feels he can win, and if one looks at the history of DEI, one will find mismanagment, and mistakes that have hurt the organization over and over again. Some of them you can lay at the feet of fate, but a lot at Theresa not knowing what she is doing. She is a smart lady, good at business, but she isn't her late husband when it comes to assessing talent and people have steered her wrong. For DEI to have done as well as they have is a tribute to Dale Jr., and if he wants control, she has to decide just how bad she wants to have an empty shell when he takes the Bud money down the road. One thing is for sure, RCR could build a fourth car really quick...

[MD24]

http://www.maxchevy.com/columns/grissom/ii_4-grissom-2.html

Teresa already has agreed to 51% of DEI for Dale Jr.? The Dale [Earnhardt] Jr. / DEI contract negotiations continue and the influence of ace negotiator Max Siegel may be bearing success. One contact told me [MaxChevy's Glen Grissom] on the down-low that the 51% (or majority ownership) that Dale Jr. requires to stay with DEI has essentially been negotiated – agreed to by Teresa Earnhardt. But that she, in turn, is requesting that an independent, impartial review board be set up within DEI that would take into consideration and review any major operational changes that Dale Jr. would want to take place – acting like a board of directors it seems to me [MaxChevy's Glen Grissom], with Dale Jr. basically reporting to it. So far, this has been balked at – but stranger management structures have survived in the business world. All parties say they want to have the contract resolved by May, so with April half-over, it’s crunch time .

[Sparky1329]

I'll be surprised if Jr agrees to a "board".

[Mark in Oshawa]

Jr. wants control because for all his career at DEI, he has had no control. When his dad was alive, I am sure he was ok with that. Dad knew enough about people he hired to run things to ensure to Dale Jr. that they knew their jobs and the right decisions would be made. Since Teresa has been the boss, over time DEI has not replaced people that move on (lets face it, most organizations turn over a lot of people as people climb the ladder) with the same quality of people, and R and D maybe has not been looked after. Many of Jr's poorest finishes have come from blown motors, so one might want to look at the engine department. The move of crew chiefs that was much ballyhooed tore up the morale at DEI (even though it did prove to Jr. to appreciate the Eury's) and the team never really recovered that season. There are numerous instances where bad management decisions (not malicious or decisions made to hurt Jr, just bad ones) have been the story for the last 4 years at DEI. Jr. wants control because he has had his fate in the hands of others and he has seen that DEI is going down; and he is man enough to know he is willing to take on the responsiblity of steering the ship that his dad founded. He feels no need to buy a team from anyone else, nor does he want to own any team BUT DEI.

In his own way, he wants what Teresa wants, that is a legacy based on Sr.'s name in the form of this team. For this to work however for Jr., he HAS to either have competant managers running the show, or run the show himself. He obviously feels Teresa cant do it, and this management committee that he would answer to just wont work if he owns 51% of the team. Teresa will give up a large chunk of ownership but wants a say in running things and THAT would not work. No one owns the majority of any business and just leaves others to run it blindly. Dale Jr. will hire the people to run the team based on his instincts from being around the garage, and the help of others I am sure, and if he hires wrong, well then he will be the guy he has to answer for, and knowing Jr. he will be a man and admit his faults.

The reason I like this guy is because you never hear him bad mouth anyone when he feels he may have had a fault in the outcome, whether it be a motor blowing up, or a wreck. He admits fault, he tells it as it is, and he is willing to buy a majority stake in keeping his Dad's legacy alive. For Teresa, it is pride, and the love her husband's dream, but she has to know that Dale Jr. isn't going to do something there that is malicious or nasty to what his Dad wanted, and he has a greater knowledge about where this team needs to go.

If Jr. never signs with DEI, I predict the team is gone from the landscape of Cup racing within 5 years as we see it now. It may be bought out by another team or buyer down the road or not have any success and limp along into obscurity like the Wood's have done and until recently, the Petty's. To stay on top requires hiring the right people, spending the money and letting them run it. Results should be what counts...and DEI is having one year after another on a slow decline...

[Mark in Oshawa]

Of course, what I said is opinion....I am sure someone will dispute it....but it wont change the fact that I doubt highly that Jr. would want to buy the team just to cut Teresa out and kill any legacy of his dad.....

[ms0362]

I agree with Hoss. I don't follow Jr, but he is building consistant numbers. He does commercials because GM and Budweiser contract it, and because he's marketable.

[BenRoethig]

Junior wants control because he knows Teresa is a genius on the business side, she doesn't know jack about the racing side of things. That was Dale Sr.'s job.

[Sparky1329]

Junior wants control because he knows Teresa is a genius on the business side, she doesn't know jack about the racing side of things. That was Dale Sr.'s job.

Exactly!

[Mark in Oshawa]

That was my point, just I got long winded..lol

[wbcobrar]

I joined this forum only a few days ago and i can't believe my first two postings are in defence of Jr. I am a hardcore Ford/Rousch fan and generally take pleasure in ripping on all the billions of you crazed 8 freaks on Monday. However , I must admit the man has tallent , and his biggest problem (on the track) is clearly sub-par equipment. I just want to see Kenseth kick his butt in a fair fight!

[Cindy_AL]

Those of you who are long time members here may remember that I was no fan of Jr but as he has matured and I have had the opportunity to watch him at the track, I have somewhat seen him in a different light and he has sort of grown on me, so to speak. With that maturity came some respect from those of us who loved to hate his Dad and it has been interesting watching him evolve into his own person rather than someone who I always thought was riding on his Dad's coat-tail. He is not the cocky kid that I once seen in him. Though I do not claim to be a big fan of his, I do think he is worthy of a top ride and hope he gets it.

I have not kept track of all the latest gossip, etc but I recently heard that Jr is going to field a 2nd Busch team at JRM and has been looking for crewmembers for that team. Has anyone heard anything on that or is it old news? :uhoh:

[wbcobrar]

there is no question that Jr. is a good driver. The question that remains to be answered is , is he a great driver , a champion .

[wbcobrar]

It is extremely hard to become a champion driver. It may even be harder to manage a championship winning race team . Does Dale Jr. have what it takes to do both?