Dale Earnhardt Interview

Don · #1 (**permalink**) 11-13-2007, 05:16 AM

Dale Earnhardt interview on MotorSports.com:

http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=275349

427 S/O · #2 (**permalink**) 11-13-2007, 05:32 AM

I know very little about him leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc., something about Dale's wife wanting to control everything?. Seems to me Jr. should own it...

Ron61 · #3 (**permalink**) 11-13-2007, 06:30 AM

Perry,

I agree but Dale Sr. left no will and Jr. is just Tresa's stepson and they have never gotten along. I don't know what his brother Kerry got, but he has vanished from the racing scene completely it seems.

Ron

Wayne Maybury · #4 (**permalink**) 11-13-2007, 06:53 AM

He is showing some class by not bad-mouthing anyone.
Will Budweiser still be the pimary sponsor of his new car?

This is completely off topic but I get a chuckle out of the term "car of tomorrow". It is a spec race car that NASCAR will be using beginning next year. The rear wing looks like something you would expect to see on a ricer.

They sure do get lots of HP out of a relatively small push rod engines however.

Wayne

Excaliber · #5 (**permalink**) 11-13-2007, 08:32 AM

Budweiser won't be the sponsor for Jr. next year. Seems to me he was working a deal with Coke? Also he can't run the number 8 on his car, as that is owned by DEI and they refuse to give it up.

tcrist · #6 (**permalink**) 11-13-2007, 09:04 AM

Dale Sr & His wife built and own Dale Earnhardt Inc and car dealerships. There is no reason for her to give it to anyone until she passes away.

Kerry still races but has never done very well. His son drives ARCA (I think) for DEI.

Dale Jr's sponser next year is AMP energy drink and his car number will be 88.

None of the teams own the car numbers. They lease the numbers from Nascar. DEI would have given up the #8 but they wanted HMS & Dale Jr to pay them for it. Even Nascar said that DEI could not charge for the #8. You cant sell what you do not own. DEI is will keep leasing the #8 (more that likely because Dale Jr wants it).

Dale Jr and Wicked Stepmother do not get along at all. Dale Jr is trying to be as nice as he can with her so at least he can get part of what Dale Sr built. As he should get some of it in time. The issue with DEI and Dale JR is he wanted controlling interest in it and she was not willing to give it up. No one can blame her for that.

Terry

Joe Wicked · #7 (**permalink**) 11-13-2007, 10:46 AM

All the above is accurate, but I think the controlling interest part goes back to a couple of years ago, when she made Jr. get a contract. Dale Sr. never had a contract for his son. He told his son (according to Jr), you will always have a car here, this team is as much yours as it is mine. When Teresa started treating him like just another employee, he could not take it any more and demanded controlling interest because he saw it as she was ruining his fathers company. Her view is that she is doing what is necessary in order to continue the company, and the truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wayne Maybury

He is showing some class by not bad-mouthing anyone.
Will Budweiser still be the pimary sponsor of his new car?

This is completely off topic but I get a chuckle out of the term "car of tomorrow". It is a spec race car that NASCAR will be using beginning next year. The rear wing looks like something you would expect to see on a ricer.

They sure do get lots of HP out of a relatively small push rod engines however.

Wayne

Jr will be driving the #88 Mountain Dew/Amp Energy Drink Car.
The "Car of Tomorrow" name has stuck since the testing on it began 2 years ago. They have used it in a lot of races this year already and it will be full time next year. The whole design was supposed to be around safety, and the wing plays into it. The big difference in the wing compared to a ricer wing is this one is actually designed to be 100% functional on the car it is on, at the speeds it is being used unlike the rear wing on a front wheel drive car.

DAVID GAGNARD · #8 (**permalink**) 11-13-2007, 11:04 AM

Teresa is such a "nice" lady, after marrying Sr.,she didn't want to raise or have anything to do with Jr., so she had him sent of to a military school when he was about 8 years old...........things have gone downhill since.........

The deal with the car # was very simple, she would let Hendricks have it for Jr., but she would still get a % of his souvenier (sp) sales pretty much forever!!!!!!!!!! like I said, real "nice" lady..........

BTW: I'm NOT a Jr. fan..............

David

Excaliber · #9 (**permalink**) 11-13-2007, 11:12 AM

No question Jr. wanted the number 8. Call it 'lease', 'own', 'sale' or whatever. NASCAR had no problem with Jr. getting the number, DEI just wouldn't let it go. I think thats pretty cold.

...never was a big Earnhardt fan, Sr or Jr, but Sr sure could drive, he was the man I loved to hate!

427 S/O · #10 (**permalink**) 11-13-2007, 11:13 AM

Wayne, your right!, haven't heard any negatives from Jr.

tcrist · #11 (**permalink**) 11-13-2007, 11:45 AM

Joe Wicked,

You are right on the contract signing issue. In the end JR wanted her to give him some of the company and he was willing to buy in to get controlling interest. Teresa said no to the controling interest part and I for one do not blame her at all.

Through the whole thing JR has told everybody to "LAY OFF OF TERESA". She is doing what she feels is the right thing to do. He even said that he isn't walking away from DEI, he just needs to drive somewhere else right now.

He is being very "politicly correct" at this point in time.

He is smart and not completly buring bridges, just scorching them a little.

Terry

Don · #12 (**permalink**) 11-13-2007, 12:18 PM

My understanding is Dale' Jr's sister actively guided him during his youth and moved to the same community that the military school is in.To this day, she continues to be his full time Business Manager having resigned from a Corporate position in Human Resources.

As DEI,( Incorporated ) Dale SR, must have had ( assumption ) within the Corporate by-laws a survior clause which gave his wife , upon his death , the controlling intertest, i.e. 50.1 % or more. Dale JR wanted the 50.1% or more, but who knows, maybe he still has a fractional intetest in DEI.

Dale JR, to his credit, came to the defense of his step mother. Basically, I can comment but that does not give the press and others the right to make negative comments.

After a disastrous 2007 with the multiple DNF, can only speculate where JR would be in the Chase rankings. With Rick Hendrick, a clean start for 2008, with probably the best equipment and personnel in the Cup series.

Had JR gone with Richard Childress, who continues to lease the number, and drove the black #8, he would have missed the opportunity to establish his own legacy. I " think " the 88 was his grandfather's number ?

Wonder how much sharing there will be in 2008 between the 24, 48 and 88

Joe Wicked · #13 (**permalink**) 11-13-2007, 01:34 PM

All the Hendrick teams are required to input into a database everything they did at each race along with the results of those adjustments, etc... All teams have access to it. The difference in what one driver likes vs another limit the usefulness of the info though. Keep in mind too, that Tony Eury Jr is at Hendrick building cars for Jr. He knows what Jr likes, so I would be shocked if he does not come to the head of the pack within the first couple of months next year.

tcrist · #14 (**permalink**) 11-13-2007, 03:39 PM

Jr's grandfather ( Ralph) drove the #8. Thats why Dale Sr. had the number for Dale Jr to use. Jr relies on his sister for just about everything. I believe she even handles almost all of his money dealings. Jr even said in an interview that he cant control his spending so he keeps almost no money on him. Kelly takes care of him completly.

Terry

Joe Wicked · #15 (**permalink**) 11-13-2007, 04:14 PM

I haven't been a big Jr fan mostly due to I felt he did not earn his popularity or his fans. He was popular because of his dad. I felt that he acted like he deserved everything because of his dad. Mainly I did not respect him. This year has changed that. This year he has taken the high road. I think the biggest thing that he did was turn down the 3 car for RCR. With his words being that is his dads legacy and he wants to build his own made me rethink who he was and now I find myself liking him as a driver.

Don · #16 (**permalink**) 11-13-2007, 04:31 PM

Terry.......thanks for the clarification, is there any reason for the number 88 ?

I wonder if the Hendrick database is updated real time during the race to reflect air pressure changes, sway bar adjustments, adding/removing spring rubbers etc., etc., or just pre and post race updates ?

Knaus & Letarte share the same Hendrick building and spend non-racing time together. In addition to the numbers, the strategy sessions must also be helpful.

" Team owner Rick Hendrick struck gold when he put these two crew chiefs together in the same shop late in the 2005 season "

tcrist · #17 (**permalink**) 11-13-2007, 06:54 PM

Don,
The only reason for the 88 is that Dale Jr still wanted his number centered around the number 8. He could not have the 8 so Yates is releasing the number 88 so Jr could have it.

I think that the Hendrick database is updated as far as setups until the race starts. After that everyone is on their own unless one asks the other what they changed. Jeff and Jimmys driving style is different. What one changes at the track will not necesserally work for the other.

I wonder if Dale's car will be in the same shop as Jeff & Jimmys. Right now the 24 & 48 is in one shop and the 25 & 5 is in another. It is my understanding that Casey Mears is going to move to the 5 next year and the 25 is not going to be run by Hendrick.

Terry

Don · #18 (**permalink**) 11-14-2007, 06:26 AM

Update from MotorSports.com:

Note: "We share air pressures during the race, pit strategies, setup information all weekend along. "

" On weekdays at the shop, employees wear one style shirt and prepare both cars together."

One of Johnson's keys to success has been a shift in focus in strategy. Instead of running flat out for the entire race, the No. 48 crew has let the race fall into their laps. Knowing he has a strong car underneath him, Johnson waits until the closing stages of the race to attack.

"We used to be the team that went out there and tried to be the fastest for the whole race and really didn't get the fruits that we wanted to from that kind of effort," explained Knaus. "So this year, we've adopted a new mentality to just kind of ride and find a position to be in so at the end of the race that the car, one, is in good shape, that Jimmie is not worn out for two, and to be where we need to be so if something happens at the end. If we're not able to get up there, maybe we can pull something and try to get up there and get a victory."

A unique aspect of Hendrick Motorsports is that both the No. 24 and No. 48 teams act as one. On weekdays at the shop, employees wear one style shirt and prepare both cars together. The sharing doesn't stop there. Setups are exchanged on race weekends and all four Hendrick teams help each other out. It's that kind of approach that has made both Johnson and Gordon so successful over the years.

"We share everything," explained Gordon's crew chief, Steve Letarte. "It's a complete open book-- All four cars are an open book to one another from week one at Daytona testing all the way to the final laps at Homestead. We share air pressures during the race, pit strategies, setup information all weekend along.

Wayne Maybury · #19 (**permalink**) 11-14-2007, 07:00 AM

I always find the amount of importance that is placed on a car's number to be very strange. In F1, I believe that it works the following way; the team that finishes first this year gets the car numbers 1 and 2 next year. The second place team gets 3 & 4, and so on down the line. No one owns a number and no one keeps a number unless they finish in the same place as previous year.

Of course NASCAR has developed a whole marketing strategy for promotional items around the car numbers so they treat the car numbers very differently.

Wayne

Madmiles442 · #20 (**permalink**) 11-14-2007, 08:02 AM

Junior always seems to blame his team for a car that's not good enough. Doesn't seem very involved in the team, just a driver that shows up and hits the gas.

As for Teresa, the real question is
Is she hot? In a milf-sorta way?