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)
