Is the unthinkable about to happen??? Dale Jr. gone from DEI???
Posted by raceannouncer | Filed under Uncategorized
Today, (May 10, 2007) at around 11am, Dale Earnhardt Jr. will hold a “major” press conference, supposedly about his racing future. Since he is literally the “face” of NASCAR, the announcement, not to mention the anticipation of it, will have roughly the same effect on the sport as, let’s say, a major earthquake in the LA area…maybe even bigger than that!
But let’s take a little closer look here at Dale Jr. vs DEI:
Dale Jr. is his father’s legitmate son. His sister Kelly is handling the negotiations for Jr. and she too has an interest here. And don’t forget the Eurys either!
Teresa was left in the unenviable position of operating a company started by her husband following his death–with stepchildren involved in the operation. ANY negotiations were bound to be difficult, at best.
Some facts have been lost in all the hype surrounding these negotiations:
Teresa comes from a racing family herself (some older race fans may remember her uncle, Tommy Houston). She married Dale Sr. in 1982 when Dale Jr. was only 8 years old. She is a very intelligent woman–it’s common knowledge that it was her keen business sense that helped build DEI in the formative years.
Another fact is this: when Dale Sr. died, Teresa had to take over the company in the most difficult circumstances. Dale Jr. was quoted at the time that he wanted nothing to do with the operation side of the business, he just wanted to drive. Now that’s changed.
Some people have the opinion that in the years following the death of Dale Sr., Teresa has operated DEI as some sort of “living shrine” to him–that somehow, ALL decisions made in the day-to-day operation of DEI are “what Dale Sr. would have wanted”.
The “bottom line” for this story is exactly that– what’s best for the bottom line of DEI. Most people believe that if Teresa truly has the best interests of DEI at heart (in other words, what Dale Sr. would have wanted), Jr. needs to be with DEI–in whatever capacity keeps him there. Should Jr. leave and go somewhere else, most feel DEI would lose–in many ways.
Dale Jr. is EXACTLY where he always said he wanted to be in this deal–in the “driver’s seat”(pun intended!)
Mike Paz, Motorsports Announcer
