Bottom Line -
Budweiser follows Jr., Truex doesn't. Eury Jr. will but its not official.....and Jr. will take crew members that accept his decision to leave with him, there are some that don't agree with him leaving. (I wonder which ones, Eury Sr?)

Other sponsers who signed with Jr. Motorsports (Wrangler) will follow Jr. as well......sponsers who signed with DEI (Menards, Sharpie) will not.

"Obviously, if Richard decides to do a fourth team, if that's
what Richard decides to do, Junior would be one of the drivers we'd
talk to without a doubt," Jeff Burton said.

"Dale Junior is a real popular driver. I wasn't really
surprised that he left there," Matt Kenseth said. "Now is the
time if you're going to try and better yourself and try and win a
championship. I totally understand it."

"If I were Teresa I'd be a little bit concerned," Bobby
Hamilton Jr. said. "Dale Jr. is the biggest name in the sport."

-- Edited by Tooz at 18:26, 2007-05-12

Also, Martin Truex, Jr., Earnhardts teammate at Dale Earnhardt, Inc. said he is under contract with DEI through the end of 2008 and remains committed to the team, despite the impending departure of Earnhardt, his close friend and mentor.

Truex refuted media reports that surfaced on the Internet Wednesday that he, too, was set to leave DEI. Ive got to give it a fair shake, said Truex, adding that hes signed with DEI through the end of 2008. Ive decided Im going to finish out the year and honor my contract because of all the things theyve done for me in the past, and thats the bottom line. Im going to stay.

And he downplayed suggestions that Earnhardts departure would be a huge blow to DEI. I appreciate everything hes ever done for me and well continue to be great friends. I wish him luck wherever he goes, Truex said of Earnhardt. Honestly, people think Im crazy when I say this, but I dont think its a huge deal. Were going on with business as usual. Weve got all the same people working there. Just because Juniors not driving for us, I dont see that making that big an impact.

New NASCAR owner Bobby Ginn plans to pursue Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- with every intent of landing him -- as soon as Junior is ready to hear offers.

``We would stretch as hard as we could stretch to do it,'' Ginn said by telephone Friday night. ``You want the best, the absolute best, and I love the idea that Dale wants to win championships. He could accomplish that here with us.

``We're in play.''

So is Ginn, who finds himself jockeying for position among NASCAR's heavyweights less than a year after buying into the sport.

The Florida land developer bought a midlevel team last July and markedly improved it in just a few short months. Following an aggressive long-range plan, Ginn snagged Mark Martin and expanded the operation to three cars.

Then Martin nearly won the Daytona 500, while opening the season with the best start of his career.

He briefly led the points standings before bowing out on top. He's running a partial schedule this season and is currently ranked 14th despite sitting out three of 10 races.

Existing drivers Sterling Marlin and Joe Nemechek have been considerably stronger this season, with Marlin as the only driver not ensured a spot in the field to qualify for the first five races of the year.

Ginn also beefed up his driver development package, where he's tucked away 15-time motocross champion Ricky Carmichael.

``We have a five-year plan in mind and the conclusion is winning a championship,'' Ginn said. ``We took a risk on Mark Martin, and that's paid off in spades for us. We aren't afraid to be aggressive.''

The team leases its motors from Hendrick and is perceived to be a satellite of that powerful operation. It's gotten Ginn mentioned as an outside equation in the Earnhardt race, but the team clearly wants to be a viable option.

``He is the man in NASCAR,'' Martin said. ``We would certainly like to talk to him.''

Ginn thinks his team suits Earnhardt because he runs it like a family operation and would fit much of what Junior is looking for. Earnhardt ideally would like to complement JR Motorsports, the Busch Series operation he owns, with his next employer.

Dale Earnhardt followed that model by driving for Childress while developing DEI, and Ginn thinks Junior can do it with him.

``Listening to what Dale has outlined, his Busch operation would dovetail beautifully with us,'' Ginn said. ``We believe he'd be a good fit. Our DNA's match, our cultures are alike.''

Earnhardt reiterated Friday that he's looking for a winner.

``I could live without winning a championship, but I would have to,'' he said. ``But I don't want to. I want to win a championship and I want to win more races. I want to win on a regular basis.''

It's why he'll take some time away to decompress before he makes the next biggest decision in his life. He wants his next employer to be his last after six-plus seasons at his late father's company. Junior has won 17 races at DEI, but the program has been on a slow decline since Earnhardt's 2001 death.

``I would like to take a week or two to clear my mind a little bit, drink some beers and have some fun,'' he said. ``I have felt about as un-normal as I possibly could the past few days. Lost a lot of sleep. So I want to relax and just clear my head and get in a good football stance to go after this new deal that we're seeking.''

The suspense will consume the garage, which was abuzz all day Friday as he and his team did their best to get on with their final year together.

It wasn't easy, though, as thick crowds gathered around his garage stall and team hauler to watch his every move.

``It's sort of hard to get to the car -- I'm parked too close to the 8,'' RCR driver Clint Bowyer joked. ``Man, it would be hard to focus on what you are doing with all the hoopla around him.''

Despite the chaos, Junior was able to find some peace inside his red No. 8 Chevrolet.

``I am glad to be back in a race car today, absolutely. That's where I hide from a lot of things,'' he said. ``I love race-car driving and that's all I want to do. After the last couple of days, this is the best medicine.''

Max Seigel will be a guest on Wind Tunnel tonight on the Speed Channel.