NASCAR Fans - Dale Jr & Truex To Leave DEI For Jr Motorsports?

[Seahunt]

Big rumors about tomorrow's press conference! My DH says he believes it might be true - and probably the only way Jr would leave (to be an owner) I think Teresa should keep him onboard with DEI! :

Tongues were really wagging Wednesday when Earnhardt, who’s in the final year of his DEI contract, called a news conference for Thursday morning at his Mooresville race shop without releasing any details.

Rampant speculation Wednesday night had Junior set to announce he was leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc., the company founded by his late father and the only team he’s ever driven for, to field his own Nextel Cup team.

Mike Davis, a representative for Earnhardt, refused to discuss Junior’s announcement.

Earnhardt owns JR Motorsports, which fields a Busch team for Shane Huffman and several late-model teams. At the recent grand opening for JRM, he said he could see the organization fielding Cup cars. Earnhardt’s sister Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, who runs JRM’s business side, appeared taken aback by the remark and later said the duo had no plans to expand into NASCAR’s top series.

The AJC reported that during Wednesday night’s sponsor event, Earnhardt told fans that his plans for JR Motorsports might not include adding Nextel Cup cars and that his priority as a team owner is promoting young drivers and mechanics.

“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.”

If expansion is in the cards, Earnhardt would need help with engines and equipment. That could come from car owners Rick Hendrick or Richard Childress, who fielded championship-winning cars for Dale Earnhardt and currently leases engines to JR Motorsports.

Hendrick officials said they have no knowledge of Junior’s announcement, and calls to RCR officials were not immediately returned.

But a person familiar with the discussions told The Associated Press that Hendrick recently offered Earnhardt engines if he decided to field his own team. That person requested anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss it. Hendrick, winners of seven of the past eight races this season, already leases engines to Ginn Racing and Haas-CNC Racing.

 

[tar heel]

The Charlotte Observer's NASCAR sources are seldom wrong: http://www.thatsracin.com/247/story/4129.html

 

[dreamin in pa]

Saw this rumor earlier today, too. The only way I see Jr. leaving DEI is to start his own team or to run for Richard Childress Racing. JR Motorsports for the control Jr. wants and RCR because Dale Sr. drove for him.

And if Theresa Earnhardt "lets" Jr. leave, she is stupid. Jr.'s fans will follow him where he goes and so will his sponsor. She will lose more money in the long run if she doesn't give Jr some control of DEI now.

 

[I'mNoPrince]

Well I habe to say I hope this does happen or forces Her hand in handing over some control.

Yes she does deserve some parts of the Business but Sr put all that in motion for his kids.

If Jr leaves I see a hard-up driver catching on just for the owners points to get into the races but thats it. And you think J Gordon has it hard just think of what that driver will go through.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

I love dale jr he my fav
Its sad he and his step mom cant come to an agreement especially since its his dads company.
I hope he will sign with another team instead if making his own so he can focus on racing

 

[Alicnwondrln]

Saw this rumor earlier today, too. The only way I see Jr. leaving DEI is to start his own team or to run for Richard Childress Racing. JR Motorsports for the control Jr. wants and RCR because Dale Sr. drove for him.

And if Theresa Earnhardt "lets" Jr. leave, she is stupid. Jr.'s fans will follow him where he goes and so will his sponsor. She will lose more money in the long run if she doesn't give Jr some control of DEI now.

I have to agree
its not a good business decision at all
Bud and all his sponosrs and fans will go with him

 

[taylor1293]

Teresa offered Jr 51% of the company, an IMO, at a fair price.

The company belongs to Dale Sr and his wife. As husband and wife they ran and grew the company together. If he wanted his shares to go to his children it would have been stated in his will. I think it's a common misconception that this company was Dale's (and not Dale and Teresa's) and that it was to go to his kids. This is simply not true.

http://www.daleearnhardtinc.com/content/corporation/companyhistory.aspx

It would be no different than if my husband of 16 years died (assuming he had kids from a prior marriage...he doesn't but let's assume so). His assets would go to me, as they should, because I'm his wife. Children are secondary beneficiaries unless otherwise noted in a will or life insurance policy.

(oops...editing because I accidentally hit enter, lol)

With that said...I think Teresa should have tried harder to work with Dale. Lowered the price a little or came to some other agreement. I don't think she'll have any problems finding drivers for DEI, but they won't bring in the revenue JR has. I wish both JR and DEI the best of luck!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Jr. was offered a fair price. If he wanted to stay they would have come to an agreement.
I think he wants 100% control and he can only get that if he leaves.

Will she lose on that? Perhaps.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

my understadning is he wanted control but not 100%
I have not seen anything saying she did offer him 51%
I have heard she wouldnt offer him that and thats why he is leaving

 

[Miss Jasmine]

I'm not even into NASCAR, but his business side of things has intrigued me.
1) It was a rumor that Teresa offered 51% to Junior. That was not the case
2)I do believe that she should give up controlling ownership. I am a step-mom. If DH built up a business and something happened to him, I would take care of the business until such time as I think the kiddos could take over. I would still hold some interest, but no way would it be majority ownership.
3) She is a moron for even allowing this to go this far.

 

[taylor1293]

my understadning is he wanted control but not 100%
I have not seen anything saying she did offer him 51%
I have heard she wouldnt offer him that and thats why he is leaving

I believe in the oral discussions, she said she would give him 51% for 55 million and he refused. I think it's a fair amount as Fenway paid Roush 60 million for only 49% of their company.

I looked for a link and found this:

http://www.nascar.com/2007/news/headlines/cup/04/24/dearnhardtjr.contract.price.ap/index.html

Last week, ESPN reported DEI offered Dale Earnhardt Jr. 51-percent ownership, which NASCAR's most popular driver quickly denied. That's not to say there weren't informal discussions, rather it could be Junior simply stopped listening once he heard the asking price

Several people familiar with the contract negotiations told The Associated Press that DEI has not made a formal offer and that any discussions centered around the 51-percent ownership share came with a steep asking price -- $55 million or more -- that the Earnhardt camp didn't take seriously.

That number would be in line with the going rate for a stake in a NASCAR team. Boston Red Sox owner John Henry is believed to have spent about $60 million in February for a minority stake in Roush Fenway Racing

Edited because my whole quote didn't post. I'm having a terrible time posting today!

 

[taylor1293]

I'm not even into NASCAR, but his business side of things has intrigued me.
1) It was a rumor that Teresa offered 51% to Junior. That was not the case
2)I do believe that she should give up controlling ownership. I am a step-mom. If DH built up a business and something happened to him, I would take care of the business until such time as I think the kiddos could take over. I would still hold some interest, but no way would it be majority ownership.
3) She is a moron for even allowing this to go this far.

1) According to all the news reports it was true (see my last post). However, who knows what really goes on behind closed doors!

2) You said if your DH built up a business. This is not the case of DEI, it was a joint venture of Teresa and Dale. It was their business, not his buisness, that is they key difference.

3) From a financial standpoint, yes. From an emotional standpoint, probably not. Maybe she can't bare to give up the one link she still has to her husband? I don't know what her reasons are. All I know is that it's her company and her right to do with it what she wants.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

its all to bad
If his dad was alive I dont think alot of this would be happening
its to bad they couldnt work it out
but I think DEI loses more in the long run
Dale Jr is a young man and I remember some time ago many of the drivers coming out and saying they supported Dale Jr and he could race anywhere
Jeff Gordon was very focal in his support for JR

 

[I'mNoPrince]

She is all about the money plain and simple.

She wants that $55 to$75 million for the 51% . His problem is that she doesn't want to put anything back into the company . She wants all the profits and doesn't want to do the testing that needs to be done.All he wants to do is win races and he feels he can't compete with what he has as there is no money backing his ideas.

This is also why MW left as well he was fed up with the direction DEI was going as well. Has he done any better no maybe not but Jr. will have way more people pulling for him then MW.

Talk about other teams and Rouse mean nothing Sr. thought he was invincible and didn't really do a will in regards to DEI thats how she ended up with 100% control of it. Every interview he ever did was I'm putting this all together for the future of my Kids so they will have something to come to.

I also see her point by not just giving it away but that price is not good when it comes to the successor of her late Husband.

As far as the I built this business , without SR. there would be no Teresa mentions in reference with Nascar. Sr wanted to drive so he handed DEI over to her for the day to day things.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

1) According to all the news reports it was true (see my last post). However, who knows what really goes on behind closed doors!

2) You said if your DH built up a business. This is not the case of DEI, it was a joint venture of Teresa and Dale. It was their business, not his buisness, that is they key difference.

3) From a financial standpoint, yes. From an emotional standpoint, probably not. Maybe she can't bare to give up the one link she still has to her husband? I don't know what her reasons are. All I know is that it's her company and her right to do with it what she wants.

Sorry, even if it was a joint venture between me and DH, I would still feel the same way. Especially if one of the kiddos is as successful as Jr. is. How is giving up controlling ownership (at a damn steep price to the SON of her late husband, if the rumor was true) giving up her last link? I do believe Dale was the brains behind that operation, not her. She is all about the money. And if I was Jr. I would tell her to go to hell. Which I guess is what he is doing. It'll be interesting to see how DEI moves on with no DE jr.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

2) You said if your DH built up a business. This is not the case of DEI, it was a joint venture of Teresa and Dale. It was their business, not his buisness, that is they key difference.

Right. This is not Dale Jr's business which is why he is leaving. If dad wanted his kids to have it all he should have updated his will.

I don't blame Jr. really.

He has a name for himself and he can have his own empire for the future.

It is a shame that they could not come to an agreement. Teresa will lose out in the end, however she is a rich women and I think she will be fine.

 

[taylor1293]

its all to bad
If his dad was alive I dont think alot of this would be happening
its to bad they couldnt work it out
but I think DEI loses more in the long run
Dale Jr is a young man and I remember some time ago many of the drivers coming out and saying they supported Dale Jr and he could race anywhere
Jeff Gordon was very focal in his support for JR

I agree, I wish they could have worked it out. It only seems right that Jr drive the #8 car until he retires.

 

[tar heel]

I don't think there's any proof at all that he was offered 51% of the company.

I grew up a NASCAR far, going to races before a lot of women and families did. Even though I live in NASCAR country now, I don't consider myself a big fan, but I find Junior very compelling and this story interesting.

I think the thing that bothers a lot of people about Teresa's actions is that everything always seems to be about business with no consideration for family. Shortly after Dale died, fans from all over the country sent $ for his hometown, Kannapolis, to build a memorial to him. Teresa threatened legal action to block building it b/c the city didn't get rights from DEI for the statue. His MOTHER AND SISTER were on the memorial committee.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

I don't think there's any proof at all that he was offered 51% of the company.

I grew up a NASCAR far, going to races before a lot of women and families did. Even though I live in NASCAR country now, I don't consider myself a big fan, but I find Junior very compelling and this story interesting.

I think the thing that bothers a lot of people about Teresa's actions is that everything always seems to be about business with no consideration for family. Shortly after Dale died, fans from all over the country sent $ for his hometown, Kannapolis, to build a memorial to him. Teresa threatened legal action to block building it b/c the city didn't get rights from DEI for the statue. His MOTHER AND SISTER were on the memorial committee.

thats sad
I think she shouldnt be asking him for that much $ to buy 51%
he is the driver and his success help make her $
they need better cars and it doesnt sound like shes getting the job done for him
I think he will be fine on his own I just want him winning again
it feels like this has been a huge distraction for him and his team

 

[taylor1293]

I agree about her not putting enough into the company. But the offer is a fair value of the company and 51% gives him control of the company, he could make all the changes and decisions he wanted.

Yikes, I'm not sure MW is a good example. His career has hit rock bottom since leaving DEI!

Any interview Sr gave is irrelevant. He knew there was a risk of dying every time he drove a car. If he meant it, it should have been in his will, there are no excuses. And no one over the age of a teenager thinks they are invincible. He may have given off that image on tv, but he was 49 years old, he knew he wasn't going to live forever.

Of course there would be no Teresa in NASCAR if there were no Sr. I'm not sure what that has to do with anything?

She is all about the money plain and simple.

She wants that $55 to$75 million for the 51% . His problem is that she doesn't want to put anything back into the company . She wants all the profits and doesn't want to do the testing that needs to be done.All he wants to do is win races and he feels he can't compete with what he has as there is no money backing his ideas.

This is also why MW left as well he was fed up with the direction DEI was going as well. Has he done any better no maybe not but Jr. will have way more people pulling for him then MW.

Talk about other teams and Rouse mean nothing Sr. thought he was invincible and didn't really do a will in regards to DEI thats how she ended up with 100% control of it. Every interview he ever did was I'm putting this all together for the future of my Kids so they will have something to come to.

I also see her point by not just giving it away but that price is not good when it comes to the successor of her late Husband.

As far as the I built this business , without SR. there would be no Teresa mentions in reference with Nascar. Sr wanted to drive so he handed DEI over to her for the day to day things.