Earnhardt to limit appearances....

T

the5car

Guest
Earnhardt Jr. says contract with DEI awaiting signatures: Dale Earnhardt Jr. said Wednesday he submitted a contract proposal to Dale Earnhardt Inc. [DEI] three weeks ago but company officials have yet to sign off on it. Once they do, Earnhardt Jr. said, he will sign as well. Earnhardt Jr. has not worked with an "official" contract since 1998, when he began driving for the team started by his late father. He worked under a handshake agreement until DEI proposed a "lifetime" contract last season. The new contract will be for five years and Earnhardt Jr. said and it includes a cap on the number of sponsor and team appearances he will make away from the track during the season. "Since drivers are contract labor, my primary focus is to drive for the team, so I sell my services to the team. So, I have allotted the team 40 appearances for whoever or whatever," he said. "I had to put a cap on it. There was no control and nobody had hold of the reins. I just didn't want to give away every free day I had." Earnhardt Jr. said his team's sponsor, Budweiser, was also interested in extending its deal with the driver and DEI. "The Bud deal is good and they are wanting to extend their end of it, but they are waiting on me to be signed for good so they get their eggs in their basket," he said.(ThatsRacin.com)(1-15-2003)
 
Odd, some around here would have you believe it's his sponsors that "force" him into all these appearances. :eek:
 
Seriously though...I wonder what's going on behind the scenes at DEI?

Who is he tugging at trying to get on the ball? "I've got Budweiser sitting here waiting...let's go people".

The thinly vieled threat of pulling out and taking Bud with him is pretty good, maybe he's smarter than I think. :)
 
Now if we could only get him to limit his appearances at the tracks to, say, 4 a year...


Sorry, but you HAD to know someone would say it.

:D
 
I don't know about you TWF, but I only seem to notice him at 4 races a year anyway. :D
 
Yeah, I knew it was coming!:) What would those four appearances be?:D
 
Darn, I thought you might let him appear at the only tracks he can win at.:(
 
Actually, on second thought, maybe California, Inferior, Las Vegas, and Phoenix would be good. Those are, I think, the farthest tracks on the circuit from where I live. :p
 
Awwright!! At least they are close enough for us cheerleaders to go!!:p
 
It is so nice for everyone to speculate on something that they don't know all the details about.

"Power Struggle"
"Thinly Vailed Threat"

And I know it is just your opinion and that is what this forum is about, is expressing your opinion.
I hope the deal gets signed soon, so Jr can focus on racing and racing only. I look for a solid Top Ten and with a little luck who knows.

My thought about which four races, were, could it be the superspeed ways? mmmm
 
Dino.........I think we are all just having fun here.:) I'm a Jr fan.......but I can joke about it too.:)
 
Well, if Dale Earnhardt Junior can't get signed with Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, that bunch is stupider than even I thought. :rolleyes:
 
Dino...instead of insulting our interpretations of what he may be talking about, why don't you offer up your interpretation?
 
Actually, I found it interesting that Jr was driving under a handshake contract........maybe, he is getting smarter like Paul said. That is not a very secure ride now days with all the big sponsorships........would you do it? Not me.:)
 
I think it is just a business deal. I know that dale jr did not inheret DEI and he should not be expected to run the company. The major sticking points are probably the number of appearances. As fans we only really see the drivers every sunday. I know I don't know how much they work in the shop other than that. And being the same age (down to the day) Jr. I understand about the freedom to hang out with friends (dmp) and have a few adult beverages.
 
He controls his appearances, as he clearly says in that statement.

He isn't trying to get less appearances. He's telling DEI that he's not going to give them as many until he gets an official contract. Which will have a considerable effect on DEI's profits.
 
That's pretty much how I read it, Paul. Hence my "power struggle" statement.:D
 
I got from reading that that his appearances were out of control and no one "had a hold of the reins", so he is limiting his appearences to 40 and DEI can decide how to use them....
 
Okay, here comes the bucks take on this... I see maybe not a power struggle with DEI (Theresa) but maybe something like that. Theresa runs a pretty tight ship and always keeps the emphasis on Dale Sr. Just this week, she put a stop to a memorial of some sort in Kanapolis because they didn't have permission to use the name and likeness. She said it wasn't that she didn't want this, but there needed to be an agreement. We all know what that means don't we. She wants to have carte blanche with the decisions in everything. Maybe Jr. just doesn't want that kind of power behind him. For whatever reason, it shows me that he is either a pretty smart fella, or he has a better agent. :)
 
Details of a contract interesting? Boy doesn't take much to entertain you!!:ROFLMFAO:
 
If that was directed at me, where did I mention the "details of the contract" being interesting? I was refering to the fact that this will no longer be a "hand shake" agreement.
 
Dale Earnhardt Jr. stopped short of saying he would never leave Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, but said Wednesday he is committed to doing all he can to win the NASCAR Winston Cup championship with his family-owned team.

Earnhardt Jr. took a break from testing during the second day of NASCAR Preseason Thunder at Daytona International Speedway to speak about the reorganization of his No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet team -- and his lack of a signed DEI contract.

"Me and my sister (Kelley) turned in our proposal of (their contract) -- it's kind of revised from what they gave us," Earnhardt Jr. said. "They have yet to sign their end of it. Once they sign their end, I'll sign my end.


"Right now, I'm working it as five years. We were going to go lifetime, but you never know. The plane could crash into the mountain any day ..."

Not that a contract has ever been much of an issue for Earnhardt Jr., who has never driven for anyone but either his late father, seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt, or the team that he formed and nurtured until his death on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.

He's never had a contract with DEI. He said an extension of his Budweiser deal is awaiting consummation of his DEI paperwork.

But some jagged results last season -- at least partially tempered by driving part of the year recovering from a head injury suffered in April at Fontana -- made change necessary.

"I didn't expect as many changes," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I've got a new bus driver and a new truck driver. I've got two new tire changers and one new tire carrier."

At different venues last season, Earnhardt Jr. complained about the performance of his pit crew and changes were even made last season under the direction of crew chief Tony Eury and car chief Tony Eury Jr. to find a more effective combination.

In addition to shuffling the deck on his Winston Cup team, Earnhardt has also been involved in putting together a new Busch Series team that he owns with his stepmother, Teresa.


Earnhardt Jr. says he'll always wonder what it would be like to drive for another team. Credit: Autostock
"It's been a lot of fun getting to know these people and trying to see if you've improved the situation or the position and how good the personalities are and if they are going to improve the team," Earnhardt Jr. said.

"I feel like the changes we've made weren't really wholesale changes or big, big changes. There were good reasons for the things we did -- the people that we had in those positions before had kind of lost the spark we needed or the enthusiasm toward the team.

Earnhardt Jr. said at least initially, things are better.

"The morale just around the truck is different here at the track. The mentality and the feeling you get when you walk in the shop is a lot better. And, it's really amazing to me sometimes how just one person can affect so many.

"You are reminded of that every once in a while," he continued. "The guys we've got are really pumped up and real enthusiastic about being with the team. That's what we need and that's what makes you feel good when you're a driver."

Even more important than that, Earnhardt Jr. in many corners is seen as one of the chief architects of its future. It's a role he has slowly segued into. Despite a deserved reputation as something of a sophomoric hellion, has also shown a deeply thoughtful side. Considering where he sits to do his job is part of that.

"I don't think you ever work your way through that," Earnhardt Jr. said of thoughts of driving for another owner. "I don't think there are many people that are in the situation that I'm in -- driving for your dad.

"I think Kyle Petty probably has dealt with some of the things that I've faced or thought about (but) I've always wondered ..."

Earnhardt Jr. had a chance to experience the freedom of driving outside the boundaries of his family operation last season, when he won the Speedweeks 2002 Busch Series race at Daytona driving a car prepared and fielded by Richard Childress Racing -- his father's team.

"When I drove Richard's Busch car here it was so cool," Earnhardt Jr. said. "We won the race. If we hadn't won the race, I don't know if it would've been quite as cool (but) it was neat to see him (Childress) get excited about it and him being a car owner, I felt like I was a real asset to the team.

Earnhardt Jr. said that the fact that he's driving for his father will always mean that his success will field questions.

"In the situation that I'm in now, you've got to understand, that no matter how you put it or no matter how long I'm there, I'm always going to be the son of the man who started the business and who envisioned it all.

"So I miss out on some things, but there are advantages to it. I'm just always going to wonder what it would be like to drive for somebody else. That's not saying that I think the grass is greener on that side of the fence, I'm just always going to have that in the back of my mind -- but I like where I'm at."

But he is also being more analytical about it.

"Teresa has a lot of responsibility (and) she's going to have to make a lot of big decisions here in the future," Junior said. "I want to help her as much as I can -- as much as she'll let me. Hopefully, she makes the right decisions and we prosper and we're successful.

So far, so good, says Junior.


Earnhardt Jr. says stepmom Theresa is learning the ropes of team ownership. Credit: Autostock
"I didn't know if Teresa was really sure about what she was getting herself into because there's a lot of responsibilities being a car owner -- with the sponsors and everything (and) she didn't really have the type of relationships that she needed to have with some of the sponsors (but) I think she's working on that."

In the end, Earnhardt Jr. is in a position where -- if he is not actually making a decision that will affect his career, he is in a position to contemplate one.

"There's just a lot of things that need to be better to where I feel more comfortable racing," he said. "I'm 28 years old and I've got to put myself in position to win championships -- that's what I want to do.

"I don't want to have to compromise too much to do that (and) I don't want to feel like I'm compromising. I've never held Tony Jr. or Tony Sr. back. If I felt like I was, I'd make a decision to do something different (and) I don't want to feel like anybody's holding me back."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom