Where will he go?

Tooz · Matt Sealey Former Member

Frontrunners to sign Dale Jr. (in order)

JG4TMR · John Magee

If he goes anywhere.....I say he ends up at RCR. Hendricks is full, and Gibbs already has a superstar. If Richard dangles that #3 if front of him, Jr will bite. I may be wrong, but I think his announcement to leave was a warning shot across Teresa's bow. She now has time to think this whole thing out.

President Lou Demian · Lou Demian - President

The #3 isn't the right time for him now. In Jr's press conference he said he still stands by his thoughts that someday.... much later in his career... like the last couple of years, he would like to run the #3. He was saying maybe 50 or 55. I didn't even think he was planning on running that long.

No, taking the #3 now would definately be a bad move. He is somewhat losing the shadow by leaving DEI, but if he hopped in the #3, it would be thrust on him more than never.

Jr. said his father made the #3 what it is. If he ran it now, it would be taking something away from that.

I still think RCR is a good choice for Jr, but not in that car.

-- Edited by President Lou Demian at 08:05, 2007-05-11

President Lou Demian · Lou Demian - President

Wow.... just after I make that post, I check Jayski this morning:

Dale Jr. to RCR? done deal? UPDATE #33? FOX25(Boston's FOX affiliate) is reporting.......Dale Earnhardt Jr. will soon be racing under the same legendary #3 Chevy that his dad used to race in. A source with direct knowledge of negotiations tells FOX25 that Dale Earnhardt Jr. has finalized a deal with Richard Childress Racing Thursday night and an official announcement will be coming soon. At a press conference today to announce that he was leaving the company his late dad built, Dale Jr. said he would have mixed emotions about driving his dad's #3 Chevy, but again, FOX25 has learned that this is a done deal.(FOX25)(5-10-2007)

UPDATE: FOX8 News has confirmed Junior is negotiating late Thursday night with Richard Childress to join Richard Childress Racing. An announcement could come as early as Friday. Childress has scheduled a news conference Friday at Darlington Raceway, the site of Saturday's Nextel Nextel Cup race. Sports Director Rich Brenner has also confirmed the talks between Junior and Childress include plans for Earnhardt driving the #33 Chevrolet for RCR. Budweiser, the primary sponsor for Junior's #8 car with DEI, will follow him to his new race team. (FOX8 News)(5-11-2007)

Still.... not confirmed at this point, but this is what I thought would happen all along..

President Lou Demian · Lou Demian - President

Can this be the next car??

President Lou Demian · Lou Demian - President

Oh well... more of the rumor mill spinning out of control. No announcement today. Everyone wants to be the first to report where Jr. is going but nobody is really checking their sources.

I really think he'll be going to RCR though.

Why he won't go to Hendrick: He already has 4 committed drivers with multi-year contracts. True, He'd gain a lot more by dumping Casey Mears for Jr, but that won't happen.

Why he *probably* won't go to Gibbs: Joe Gibbs has a deep Christian faith and is against having alcoholic sponsors. I already read an article where he talked about this. So he can either�stick to his beliefs or take on Jr.�

Why he won't go to Ginn: Please...they don't have nearly the resources that other big teams have. He would have been better staying at DEI.

He won't part from Chevy so as you see, RCR will be his best fit.

-- Edited by President Lou Demian at 13:22, 2007-05-11

Tooz · Matt Sealey Former Member

---It will take at least two weeks before anything is announced I'm guessing....in the press conference, he said that he and his sister would listen to everyone who wanted to present and offer and then make a decision......he's not going to rush into anything since he only wants to drive one more car the rest of his career.

---I agree about the Hendrick probability, I personally didn't know Gibbs was opposed to alcholic sponsers...thought that was just the Pettys. Ginn is deep with money and I saw an interview at the beginning of the season where he, Bobby Ginn, said that he definately wants to make this team a legitimate contender with the big boys.

--- I only put the other makes in there to show how far and away the MWR team is........LOL

Tooz · Matt Sealey Former Member

David Poole, a Nascar reporter/columnist for the Charlotte Observer takes a crack at who's in better position to land Jr.:

Where will he go?

By DAVID POOLE / The Charlotte Observer

Now that Dale Earnhardt Jr. has said he wont drive for Dale Earnhardt Inc. next year, the question becomes where will he drive? Here, in order of likelihood as we see it, are his options:

1. Richard Childress Racing Dale Earnhardt won six championships at RCR. The team hasnt won one since Earnhardts in 1994, but has enjoyed a resurgence. Earnhardt Jr. driving for Childress, his fathers friend and former car owner, makes the most sense at first glance.

1a. Hendrick Motorsports Earnhardt Jr. wants to win now, and Hendrick cars have won seven of this years 10 races and six of the past 11 championships. NASCAR, however, now limits car owners to four teams and Hendrick already has four. Something would have to give.

2. Joe Gibbs Racing Gibbs teams have won three championships in the past seven seasons. The hang-up is Budweiser. Team president J.D Gibbs said itd be awfully hard for the team his father, Joe Gibbs, started to have a beer company sponsoring one of its cars.

3. Another Chevrolet team Bobby Ginn and Gene Haas own Chevrolet teams that use motors from Hendrick, and Hall of Fame Racing is affiliated with Gibbs. But would any one of these satellite operations offer a significant upgrade from DEI?

4. Another existing team

Earnhardt Jr. was adamant about wanting to stay in Chevrolets. But if some other manufacturer offers a deal he cant refuse, its not out of the realm of possibility. And whos to say an existing Ford, Dodge or Toyota team couldnt switch to Chevys?

5. A new team Earnhardt Jr. owns JR Motorsports, which fields a Busch Series team, If nothing else works out, it could be ramped up to a Nextel Cup team. But again, would that put Earnhardt Jr. closer to winning a championship?

President Lou Demian · Lou Demian - President

Yep... pretty much my thoughts exactly.