Earnhardt Jr.: 'We'll be driving Chevrolets'

[tkj24]

SCENEDAILY - 00:32AM ET SATURDAY MAY 5, 2007 - BY BOB POCKRASS - ASSOCIATE EDITOR



NICK LAHAM / GETTY IMAGESRICHMOND, Va. - Dale Earnhardt Jr. nearly started laughing Friday and said, 'Nah,' when asked if it was really possible he could drive a Ford next season.

Dale Earnarhdt Inc., which is in negotiations with Earnhardt Jr. for a contract extension and also must sign a new dale with Chevrolet, has had preliminary talks with other manufacturers and also has talked about a possible merger with Robert Yates Racing.


But Earnhardt Jr. couldn't see himself driving anything but a Chevy. As part of his negotiations with DEI, he wants majority ownership of the team.

"We'll be driving Chevrolets, I'll promise you that," Earnhardt Jr. said following qualifying Friday for the Crown Royal/Jim Stewart 400.

Earnhardt Jr. hopes to have a decision on whether he will remain at DEI by the end of the month.

 

[BobbyFord]

UPDATE: The latest on the Dale Earnhardt Jr. saga: The “Robert Yates” NASCAR brand will remain a Ford brand, even in any merger with Dale Earnhardt Inc., according to sources familiar with the Yates-DEI negotiations. However Earnhardt, who has been the heart of DEI, insisted he will be in Chevrolets again next season, no matter what. Those two facts make the DEI-Yates negotiations peculiar, particularly since Earnhardt has been negotiating a new contract with DEI owner Teresa Earnhardt, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. demanding controlling interest in DEI. If DEI officials are negotiating a possible switch to Ford, then Earnhardt would clearly appear to be not involved with those talks. Which would mean if Yates and DEI do come to terms, it would almost certainly be a Yates-DEI merger without Earnhardt in the mix. There has been rampant speculation the past few days that Earnhardt may be moving to either Richard Childress’ Chevy team or Rick Hendrick’s Chevy team.(Winston Salem Journal)(5-7-2007)

 

[This Buds For Me]

UPDATE: The latest on the Dale Earnhardt Jr. saga: The “Robert Yates” NASCAR brand will remain a Ford brand, even in any merger with Dale Earnhardt Inc., according to sources familiar with the Yates-DEI negotiations. However Earnhardt, who has been the heart of DEI, insisted he will be in Chevrolets again next season, no matter what. Those two facts make the DEI-Yates negotiations peculiar, particularly since Earnhardt has been negotiating a new contract with DEI owner Teresa Earnhardt, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. demanding controlling interest in DEI. If DEI officials are negotiating a possible switch to Ford, then Earnhardt would clearly appear to be not involved with those talks. Which would mean if Yates and DEI do come to terms, it would almost certainly be a Yates-DEI merger without Earnhardt in the mix. There has been rampant speculation the past few days that Earnhardt may be moving to either Richard Childress’ Chevy team or Rick Hendrick’s Chevy team.(Winston Salem Journal)(5-7-2007)

sounds like if DEI is driving fords next year...Jr wont be driving for DEI.....good move on his part....Theresa is really going to have some issues if that happens.

She's buying a company that hasnt done anything in years (including a driver that has a hard time finishing races and one that is 50 years old) and loosing nascar's most popular driver...coupled with the fact that many of the long time Earnhardt fans are strong Chevy supporters.

If Jr is driving chevy's next year...I cant see it being for Hendrick as they would have to release a driver...that driver would probably be mears and i do not see Jr getting into the 25 car.

Id say it would either be RCR or Gibbs (both have room for 1 more full time car)

Thats a lot of changes in one year.....

 

[barelypure]

So if Lil'E renews his contract and then Teresa merges with Yates and embraces Fords...this could get interesting. Unless Kelly is smart enough to put a no Ford clause in his contract...

 

[tkj24]

All I can say is Teresa isn't very smart if she does that. Like you said Jr is the heart of DEI. I can see Ford trying to woo some teams away from Chevy though. It has become very lopsided. I think if Dale Sr was still here there would be no Ford talk at DEI.