Earnhardt To Hendrick Motorsports?
Will Dale Earnhardt Jr Really Sign With Hendrick Motorsports?
According to several sources on the Internet, all signs are pointed to Hendrick Motorsports as Dale Earnhardt Jr's future workplace.
Wow, what a blow to the die hard Earnhardt fans who have loathed Hendrick Motorsports ever since Dale Earnhardt banged fenders with Geoff Bodine and Tim Richmond in the mid-1980’s.
Earnhardt Jr announced last month that he was leaving Dale Earnhardt, Inc. following the 2007 Nextel Cup season after months of fruitless contract negotiations. There was an abundance of speculation as to where NASCAR’s most popular driver would end up, and initially, Richard Childress Racing appeared to be the obvious destination. When that rumor died down, and Rick Hendrick declared that there was no room at the ‘inn’, it appeared as if Earnhardt Jr would sign with either Joe Gibbs Racing or the upstart Ginn Racing.
Hendrick Motorsports has provided drivers Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson with arguably the most superior equipment over the past two or three seasons, so it is an attractive destination for Earnhardt Jr. Moreover, Kyle Busch has posted four wins in his young career, and Casey Mears has recently won his first race.
However, in order to make room for Earnhardt Jr, someone has to go, and we all know that it is not going to be Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson. Casey Mears has performed the worst thus far of all Hendrick Motorsports drivers, but he is buddy-buddy with Johnson and Gordon.
Kyle Busch has always been the odd-man out at Hendrick Motorsports, despite the fact the he has performed almost at the same level as Johnson and Gordon. It is likely that he will be let out of his contract to make room for Earnhardt Jr.
So where does that leave Kyle Busch? Well, if all of this speculation is true, he could end up at Penske Racing driving a third car. Penske Racing has stepped up as the best Dodge team, and possibly the best non-Chevrolet team. It was noted earlier in the week that Penske could field a third team in 2008 if circumstances allowed.
As of now, 4:28 PM Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday, nothing is official. It is a wait and see game at this point in time. At 11:00AM tomorrow, we will know for sure where Dale Earnhardt Jr will be employed in 2008.
I am interested in how Dale Earnhardt Jr fans would feel about the possibility of him driving for the same team as his most heated rival Jeff Gordon. Please feel free to shoot me an email.
