SI.com's Lars Anderson has long covered Dale Earnhardt Jr. and spoke at length with the NASCAR star after he announced he will be leaving DEI at the end of the 2007 season. SI.com caught up with Lars to find out why this move happened and what the future holds for Earnhardt and DEI.
Why did Dale Jr. decide to leave DEI?
He did this solely based on the fact that he believed he couldn't win a championship at DEI and that he needed to move to another race team to legitimately contend for a championship.
How much of this decision was business and how much of it was personal?
It was entirely personal. This was clearly not a business decision on Teresa Earnhardt's behalf. Dale Jr. is, arguably, the most popular driver in the history of the sport. Why would any owner in his or her right mind let him get away? Most observers agree that what Dale Jr. was asking for was not unreasonable.
What did Dale Jr. want from DEI?
He was asking for majority ownership and day-to-day control of the entire DEI operation. While on paper, that may have been what Teresa offered him, it was pretty clear that, in fact, she was still going to be running the show behind the scenes in what they offered Dale Jr. He did not think that DEI, under Teresa's leadership, could contend for a championship; he was very clear about that. And that was the one thing that needed to change for him to stay. That didn't, so he felt like he had no other choice but to leave.
What is the source of the frosty relationship between Dale Jr. and Teresa ?
The source of the tension goes back to when Dale Jr. was a kid. The relationship was never great. Dale Jr. said that they had plenty of good times together. But clearly the problem that they had has been an ongoing one. The one common thread they had was Dale Earnhardt Sr., and once he passed away, that thread unraveled. And one could argue that their relationship unraveled that day, too.
How difficult a decision was this for Dale Jr.?
I think it was the single-most difficult decision he ever made in his life, racing or not. He knows that his dad wanted him to be at that company for his entire career. His dad built that company for Dale Jr. to race. He's got family who works there. He's got 400 employees who work there who are dedicated solely to him. For him to leave was a monumentally difficult decision.
What will be the impact at DEI?
DEI is going to struggle, beginning next year. You'd assume that a lot of the key personnel there are going to leave and follow Junior wherever he goes or leave and go to different teams. Martin Truex Jr. will probably leave, so DEI is going to be without its two drivers. So they're going to go from a team that was struggling to be in the top 10 week in and week out to a team that maybe struggles to get into the top 20. Maybe a team that no longer qualifies for all of the races.
What is Dale Jr. looking for in a new team?
First and foremost, he's looking for the ability to win a championship. He's 32, he's entering the prime of his career. He knows that the window for him to win a championship, realistically, is about 8-10 more years. He wants to win multiple championships, so he wants to go to a team that can provide him really fast racecars.
He also wants to go to a team where he feels appreciated. He simply did not feel appreciated by Teresa. It doesn't matter if he is the most popular guy in NASCAR; he still wants to be appreciated by his boss. He wants an owner who is going to be there at the track each weekend, which Teresa hasn't been. He wants an owner to give him a big bear hug in Victory Lane like Rick Hendrick does to his drivers. He wants to really feel a part of the whole racing experience, and that includes feedback and participation with an owner, and that's something he didn't have with Teresa.
Who might be joining Dale Jr. from DEI in his move?
There isn't a package deal, but I think there is a high likelihood that Tony Eury Jr., his crew chief, will move with him. The two have been together since 1998, they've won two Busch series championships together, they've won 17 Cup races together and they nearly won a championship in 2004. Junior has a very unique way of communicating with his crew chief, and Tony Eury Jr. is very adept at decoding what Junior is saying over the radio and then applying that to making changes in the set-up of the racecar. They almost have a personal language that only they can speak. It would certainly be in Junior's best interest to have Eury Jr., who is known throughout the garage as one of the top five crew chiefs.
What team is the frontrunner for Dale Jr.'s services?
There are three teams that everyone is mentioning. One is Hendrick Motorsports, but Hendrick has commitments to four drivers for next year, and that's the limit NASCAR imposes on a team in terms of how many drivers you can have; you can only have four per team. So Hendrick is out of the equation.
The two credible contenders for Dale Jr's services are going to be Joe Gibbs Racing and Richard Childress Racing. I think the best fit for him is probably going to be Gibbs. Dale Jr.'s best friend in racing is probably Tony Stewart, and they would make a great 1-2 punch at Gibbs. The two of them could go head-to-head with Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson over at Hendrick; that would make for a great rivalry. Plus, you have Denny Hamlin at Joe Gibbs Racing, and he would make a perfect No. 3 driver to go head-to-head with Kyle Busch over at Hendrick.
The other place he could go would be Richard Childress, where his dad won seven championships, and there's always the allure of the No. 3 car sitting over there, which Childress still owns the rights to.
Could Dale Jr.'s move be an opportunity for him to drive his dad's No. 3 car?
It could be, but I don't think it will. He said Thursday that his dad was the one who made that car famous, his dad was the one who captivated every race car fan in the country with his performance in that No. 3 car, and he said that it just doesn't feel quite right for him to get in there at this point in his career. But he also said he would listen to Richard Childress, and if Richard Childress has strong feelings on this, he'll sit down at the table and hear him out. But I have a hard time seeing Junior in the No. 3 car next year. Junior has said that perhaps he would like to finish his career in the No. 3 car, but that is probably a good 10 or 15 years down the road.
What might his father have thought about this move?
If his father had been around this move wouldn't have been necessary. His dad would have been running the show, and I would guess that Junior would have multiple championships by now because his dad would have made sure that Junior had as good equipment as anyone else in Nextel Cup racing. He certainly hasn't had that since he's been at DEI.
If his dad was looking down from heaven, I think he would have been proud of Junior for following his instincts and following what he thinks is right.
Any drawback to this move for Junior?
Performance-wise? No. The only negatives that could come out of this are two things, and Junior fully recognizes them. One, there are a lot of wounded people at DEI right now who are facing uncertain futures all of a sudden. Junior has a lot of long-term relationships with people there, and that is weighing very heavily on Junior. The second thing: there could be a bit of a backlash from his fans, who may not appreciate the move.
Why did Dale Jr. decide to leave DEI?
He did this solely based on the fact that he believed he couldn't win a championship at DEI and that he needed to move to another race team to legitimately contend for a championship.
How much of this decision was business and how much of it was personal?
It was entirely personal. This was clearly not a business decision on Teresa Earnhardt's behalf. Dale Jr. is, arguably, the most popular driver in the history of the sport. Why would any owner in his or her right mind let him get away? Most observers agree that what Dale Jr. was asking for was not unreasonable.
What did Dale Jr. want from DEI?
He was asking for majority ownership and day-to-day control of the entire DEI operation. While on paper, that may have been what Teresa offered him, it was pretty clear that, in fact, she was still going to be running the show behind the scenes in what they offered Dale Jr. He did not think that DEI, under Teresa's leadership, could contend for a championship; he was very clear about that. And that was the one thing that needed to change for him to stay. That didn't, so he felt like he had no other choice but to leave.
What is the source of the frosty relationship between Dale Jr. and Teresa ?
The source of the tension goes back to when Dale Jr. was a kid. The relationship was never great. Dale Jr. said that they had plenty of good times together. But clearly the problem that they had has been an ongoing one. The one common thread they had was Dale Earnhardt Sr., and once he passed away, that thread unraveled. And one could argue that their relationship unraveled that day, too.
How difficult a decision was this for Dale Jr.?
I think it was the single-most difficult decision he ever made in his life, racing or not. He knows that his dad wanted him to be at that company for his entire career. His dad built that company for Dale Jr. to race. He's got family who works there. He's got 400 employees who work there who are dedicated solely to him. For him to leave was a monumentally difficult decision.
What will be the impact at DEI?
DEI is going to struggle, beginning next year. You'd assume that a lot of the key personnel there are going to leave and follow Junior wherever he goes or leave and go to different teams. Martin Truex Jr. will probably leave, so DEI is going to be without its two drivers. So they're going to go from a team that was struggling to be in the top 10 week in and week out to a team that maybe struggles to get into the top 20. Maybe a team that no longer qualifies for all of the races.
What is Dale Jr. looking for in a new team?
First and foremost, he's looking for the ability to win a championship. He's 32, he's entering the prime of his career. He knows that the window for him to win a championship, realistically, is about 8-10 more years. He wants to win multiple championships, so he wants to go to a team that can provide him really fast racecars.
He also wants to go to a team where he feels appreciated. He simply did not feel appreciated by Teresa. It doesn't matter if he is the most popular guy in NASCAR; he still wants to be appreciated by his boss. He wants an owner who is going to be there at the track each weekend, which Teresa hasn't been. He wants an owner to give him a big bear hug in Victory Lane like Rick Hendrick does to his drivers. He wants to really feel a part of the whole racing experience, and that includes feedback and participation with an owner, and that's something he didn't have with Teresa.
Who might be joining Dale Jr. from DEI in his move?
There isn't a package deal, but I think there is a high likelihood that Tony Eury Jr., his crew chief, will move with him. The two have been together since 1998, they've won two Busch series championships together, they've won 17 Cup races together and they nearly won a championship in 2004. Junior has a very unique way of communicating with his crew chief, and Tony Eury Jr. is very adept at decoding what Junior is saying over the radio and then applying that to making changes in the set-up of the racecar. They almost have a personal language that only they can speak. It would certainly be in Junior's best interest to have Eury Jr., who is known throughout the garage as one of the top five crew chiefs.
What team is the frontrunner for Dale Jr.'s services?
There are three teams that everyone is mentioning. One is Hendrick Motorsports, but Hendrick has commitments to four drivers for next year, and that's the limit NASCAR imposes on a team in terms of how many drivers you can have; you can only have four per team. So Hendrick is out of the equation.
The two credible contenders for Dale Jr's services are going to be Joe Gibbs Racing and Richard Childress Racing. I think the best fit for him is probably going to be Gibbs. Dale Jr.'s best friend in racing is probably Tony Stewart, and they would make a great 1-2 punch at Gibbs. The two of them could go head-to-head with Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson over at Hendrick; that would make for a great rivalry. Plus, you have Denny Hamlin at Joe Gibbs Racing, and he would make a perfect No. 3 driver to go head-to-head with Kyle Busch over at Hendrick.
The other place he could go would be Richard Childress, where his dad won seven championships, and there's always the allure of the No. 3 car sitting over there, which Childress still owns the rights to.
Could Dale Jr.'s move be an opportunity for him to drive his dad's No. 3 car?
It could be, but I don't think it will. He said Thursday that his dad was the one who made that car famous, his dad was the one who captivated every race car fan in the country with his performance in that No. 3 car, and he said that it just doesn't feel quite right for him to get in there at this point in his career. But he also said he would listen to Richard Childress, and if Richard Childress has strong feelings on this, he'll sit down at the table and hear him out. But I have a hard time seeing Junior in the No. 3 car next year. Junior has said that perhaps he would like to finish his career in the No. 3 car, but that is probably a good 10 or 15 years down the road.
What might his father have thought about this move?
If his father had been around this move wouldn't have been necessary. His dad would have been running the show, and I would guess that Junior would have multiple championships by now because his dad would have made sure that Junior had as good equipment as anyone else in Nextel Cup racing. He certainly hasn't had that since he's been at DEI.
If his dad was looking down from heaven, I think he would have been proud of Junior for following his instincts and following what he thinks is right.
Any drawback to this move for Junior?
Performance-wise? No. The only negatives that could come out of this are two things, and Junior fully recognizes them. One, there are a lot of wounded people at DEI right now who are facing uncertain futures all of a sudden. Junior has a lot of long-term relationships with people there, and that is weighing very heavily on Junior. The second thing: there could be a bit of a backlash from his fans, who may not appreciate the move.