May 10, 2007
- TRANSCRIPT view the full transcript from Thursday’s news conference, in which Nextel Cup driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced his plans to drive for a new team in 2008 on the Dale Jr. Transcript page.(5-10-2007)
- Earnhardt Jr. To Drive for New Team in 2008 Four-time NASCAR Most Popular Driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., announced today at a news conference at JR Motorsports that negotiations to extend his driving contract with Dale Earnhardt Inc. have come to an amicable end. Earnhardt Jr. will continue driving the #8 Budweiser Chevrolet through the remainder of the season, while his sister, Vice President and General Manager of JR Motorsports, Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, will begin exploring new opportunities for 2008. Earnhardt Jr. said Thursday he would look at his options in the coming months and hopefully announce a decision mid to late summer. “What team I drive for next season, I don’t know,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “But what I do want to say is that it’s been a privilege to drive for DEI. After a year of intense negotiations and concerted efforts to extend my contract there, it became evident that while we want to get to the same place, we simply have different visions on how to get there.” Earnhardt Jr. made the announcement with his sister, Earnhardt Elledge, by his side, and many of the Earnhardt family in attendance. “DEI will always be a special place for me and my family,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “(Owner) Teresa (Earnhardt) and (Vice President of Global Operations) Max Seigel are taking the necessary steps to bring DEI back to one of the front-running NASCAR teams. However I am 32 years old – the same age as my father when he made his final and most important career decision – and the time for me to compete on a consistent basis and contend for championships is now. Since that is what I plan to do, I feel strongly that I would have my father’s blessing.” Earnhardt Jr. said JR Motorsports will continue to work with DEI on many projects that will benefit both companies and protect the legacy of his father. A full transcript of today’s news conference will be released later this afternoon.(JR Motorsports PR)(5-10-2007)
- Budweiser Statement: Statement from Tony Ponturo, Vice President, Global Media and Sports Marketing, Anheuser-Busch, Inc. Regarding Dale Earnhardt Jr’s decision to leave Dale Earnhardt Inc. at the end of the 2007 Nextel Cup season: “Budweiser, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Dale Earnhardt Inc. have enjoyed a great relationship since 1999. Dale Jr., and his father before him, have been excellent and loyal ambassadors for our company and the sport of NASCAR. Budweiser and JR Motorsports have an agreement in place to ensure Dale Jr. will continue to personally represent Budweiser through 2008, and we look forward to discussing our future with Dale Jr. and DEI in the weeks ahead.”(fingerprint inc./Bud Racing PR)(5-10-2007)
- Dale Jr. to leave DEI after 2007 season UPDATE: Statement from Teresa Earnhardt/DEI: In response to today’s announcement by Dale Earnhardt, Jr., that he will be leaving DEI, Teresa Earnhardt, CEO of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. issued the following statement. “While we are very disappointed that Dale Jr. has chosen to leave the family business, we remain excited about our company’s future. Our aggressive expansion and diversification plans have not changed. This company has continued to thrive since Dale left us in 2001, and it will thrive following today’s announcement. Dale and I built this company to be a championship-contender, and those principles still apply. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. will win, and we have other extremely talented drivers and hundreds of employees that are dedicated to the programs we founded. This company has a great legacy and a bright future, built on loyalty, integrity, and commitment.”(DEI)
UPDATE: some highlights from the Dale Earnhardt Jr. press conference:
Dale Jr. will leave DEI at the end of the season
Sponsor/Budweiser? will be discussed in a timely manner
Car #8: No decision, but Dale Jr. expects DEI to keep the car number 8. Note: NASCAR owns and assigns car numbers to an owner(s). NASCAR reserves the right to revoke or transfer car numbers to another owner/team at any time. Car numbers are non-assignable and non-transferable, except by NASCAR. NASCAR works with teams and sponsors when a specific number is requested. Team have been known to ‘sell’ car numbers, like when DEI got the number from the Stovala Brothers in 2000, #15 from Bud Moore, etc.
Crew Chief Tony Eury Jr.: no decision on if crew chief Eury Jr. will go with DaleJr, Dale Jr. said he can’t speak for Eury Jr.
DEI Teammate Truex Jr.: is not part of this situation or discussion
Possible Plans:
1) sign with a top tier Nextel Cup team [one that wins and runs for the championship
2) sign with a second tier team
3) and the last choice, would be to run Nextel Cup with Dale Jr’s own team, JR Motorsports, but no plans for that to happen at this points, Dale Jr. does hope he can drive a few Busch Series [or whatever it will be called in 2008] out of the JR Motorsports shop.
Why leave DEI? Dale Jr. said he negotiations were never close, and he knows fans are disappointed, but so is he.(5-10-2007) - Martin to run first Busch race for Hendrick: Mark Martin, the winningest driver in NASCAR Busch Series history, will team with car owner Rick Hendrick this week for the first time. Martin will drive the #5 Hendrick Autoguard/hendrickcars.com Chevy in Friday’s Busch Series race at Darlington Raceway, marking his first time in more than 25 years of NASCAR competition behind the wheel of a Hendrick Motorsports-prepared car.(HMS PR)(5-10-2007)
- Dale Jr. & Truex to JR Motorsports? press conference at 11am/et UPDATE 3: Dave Moody reported on Wednesday afternoon’s Sirius Speedway that rumor has it that Dale Earnhardt Jr. will announce tomorrow [Thurs, May 10th] at JR Motorsports, that both he and #1-Martin Truex, Jr. will drive in the Nextel Cup Series for JR Motorsports in 2008. Hendrick Motorsports will provide engines for the team. A press conference is planned for 11:00am/et at JR Motorsports headquarters per a PR from the team and SPEED will interrupt regularly scheduled programming to go LIVE from the JR Motorsports race shop at 11:00am/et for a news conference with NASCAR Nextel Cup Series driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.(5-9-2007)
UPDATE: Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR’s biggest star, has been in contract negotiations with his current employer, Dale Earnhardt Inc., and is asking for 51% ownership of the team. But the location of the press conference, at JR Motorsports, which Earnhardt Jr. owns separately from DEI, indicates his future plans might not include DEI. Earnhardt Jr., who was at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Wednesday evening for a sponsor appearance, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he planned to talk about “some ideas I’ve got for the future” but would not elaborate. Officials from DEI did not return phone calls seeking comment. But Earnhardt Jr., answering questions from fans at an event held by his sponsor Budweiser, indicated that his plans for JR Motorsports might not include adding two Nextel Cup cars. He said his main goal in being a team owner is to be able to help young drivers and mechanics advance their careers. “I don’t want the company to get too big,” he said. “I’ve got about 70 employees now, and I don’t want to get too many more.” He also seemed to squelch another persistent rumor — that he was headed to Richard Childress Racing to drive the #3 Chevrolet made famous by his late father. “‘I’d like to do it for a year or two at the end of my career, when I’m 50 or 55,” he said.(Atlanta Journal-Constitution)(5-9-2007)
UPDATE 2: Dale Earnhardt Jr. officially will say goodbye to Dale Earnhardt Inc. on Thursday morning. A highly placed source within DEI as well as additional sources familiar with the situation told Yahoo! Sports on Wednesday afternoon that both Junior and teammate Martin Truex Jr. will announce Thursday morning that they are leaving the DEI camp at the end of this season and will drive for Earnhardt’s heretofore Busch Series operation, JR Motorsports. Sources at Hendrick Motorsports reportedly disavowed knowledge of a pending partnership. Also, various reports have indicated that Earnhardt Jr. will announce his plans to leave DEI, but that he won’t necessarily be driving for a JR Motorsports team in association with Hendrick. Sources tell Yahoo! Sports that Earnhardt Jr.’s primary sponsor, Budweiser, will follow Junior to JR Motorsports or wherever he lands. Budweiser’s contract with DEI is due to expire at the end of 2008, but Yahoo! Sports sources believe there are provisions within the contract for an early exit if Earnhardt Jr. does not drive the #8 Chevrolet for DEI. There has been no comment thus far from either DEI president Teresa Earnhardt (Dale Jr.’s stepmother) or company director of global operations Max Siegel. Truex’s contract with DEI reportedly runs through 2008, though ’08 might be only an option year on his deal with the team. It also is possible Truex has an out tied to primary sponsor Bass Pro Shops’ future with the DEI. Sources have told Yahoo! Sports that the sponsor has explored moving to a different team after this season.(Yahoo!Sports)
UPDATE 3: Dale Earnhardt Jr. is expected to put himself on the open market as a free agent today, opening the way for a break with his stepmother and Dale Earnhardt Inc. NASCAR’s most popular driver has scheduled a news conference for 11 a.m. today at his own race shop, JR Motorsports, and not at DEI — an indication he may be going his own way. Indications were strong Wednesday night that Earnhardt would not announce he’s moving anywhere specifically, or even that he will definitely break with DEI. A report that Earnhardt will field his own Cup team under the JR roof, with engines and chassis supplied by powerful Hendrick Motorsports, was flatly denied by sources close to both organizations. Another report that Earnhardt is leaning toward signing with Hendrick outright was denied from within the Hendrick organization.(Orlando Sentinel)
AND Contrary to published reports, hearing that Hendrick Motorsports is not involved in the Thursday press conference at JR Motorsports.(5-10-2007) - Tony Stewart Driving Old Spice Body Spray Scheme at Darlington: Old Spice has Tony Stewart leading the launch of its new body spray line at Darlington Raceway. Stewart will drive the #33 Old Spice Body Spray Chevy, owned by Kevin Harvick, Inc., in the Diamond Hill Plywood 200. (Old Spice/Paine PR)(5-10-2007).
- Craftsman hosts Urban Youth Racing School Students during All-Star Week: Four students from Philadelphia’s Urban Youth Racing School will intern with Truck Series teams [Circle Bar, Red Horse Racing, South Point Racing] during Charlotte’s All Star week, May 14-19. In the 2007 Craftsman Career Development Program, the students will see racing’s “business” side through a schedule that follows a team’s preparation for and participation in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Quaker Steak and Lube 200 on May 18. Other activities during the week will expose them to other aspects of the motorsports industry. The Urban Youth Racing School is headquartered in Philadelphia with a newly opened branch in Washington, D.C. The school provides inner-city youths with an awareness of the motorsports industry through education, service learning, training and racing. The school is free for all participants, and currently has 175 students enrolled.(Craftsman PR)(5-10-2007)
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