The Jr. Chronicles

By Keith Ott

  Now that Jr. has let the cat out of the bag, what do you think of his move?  I like it!  To me it almost seems as if Jr. has finally left for college; Joined the Service; Moved out of the basement.  It was that or he had to take over the business.  In fact, if Daddy were running the show at DEI, I still think at some point Jr. would have left to forge his own destiny.

  Okay, on the other hand, I have no idea what Theresa was thinking.  A large share of a DEI complete with Jr., Truex and their major sponsors would seem a better investment than new drivers and sponsors.  Jr. is a marketing cash cow.  With the only Earnhardt left at DEI being a non-racer, even the name loses a bit of luster.  I know Theresa won’t end up in the poor house.  But, IMO, she got spanked.  Perhaps Boudreaux’s would like to get back into sponsoring a team.  Or, at least send her a few samplers.

Is Jr. a lame duck at DEI?  Is company support going to fade a bit?  Everyone, of course, will be all smiley and adamantly profess their dedication to excellence and continued support.  But, will it really be there?

  And, finally, NASCAR leases the team numbers.  The #8 is leased by DEI.  Will it go with Jr.?  Was it a friendly parting of the ways?  If not, then what?  Personally, I think an argument might be made to convince Richard Childress that it might be time for the #3 to be back on the track.

What’s your take?