Now She Wants To Sell!!!

By Mark Young

 

At this time last year NASCAR was watching the turmoil and inner-family power play between Dale Earnhardt Junior and Theresa Earnhardt over control of Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, the family business that the late Dale Earnhardt created. Junior said he wanted more control of the team, the ability to be involved in the decision making process to help make DEI more competitive. Theresa refused to budge and the rest is now history.
 

Dale Junior is second in NASCAR Sprint Cup points and DEI is floundering in mediocrity. Mark Martin will be gone next year to make a final full court press attempt to win his first ever Cup Series Title. Martin Truex is in the center of rumors to be leaving for either RCR or the new Tony Stewart team, and long-time sponsor Bass Pro Shops is rumored to be leaving as well.

 

Then yesterday word got out that DEI was for sale…………..Why now?

 

U WANTS SOME?

Is Theresa Earnhardt finally realizing that her greed got the best of her? Did her pride cause her rose tinted glasses to create a vision that she didn’t need Junior? 

Granted, in this day and age of NASCAR where teams like the venerable Petty Enterprises sell majority ownership to become more competitive I am not surprised to see DEI looking for investors. But what has me just shaking my head is that she had the chance to have it all. She could have had the most popular driver in the sport and the merchandise dollars he generates. She could have had control of the business side of the organization. She could have had someone embedded into the sport that relies on being competitive making decisions to make the team run well.
 

I have read on other sites that she just wants to walk away from it all……..all of it except the licensing rights and merchandise sales of the #3 and the Intimidator logos, not a bad retirement plan if you ask me.

 

What absolutely makes me shake my head is the question Why Now? I know hind-sight is always 20-20 but was she that nieve to think that she didn’t need Junior? If she would have budged just a little bit a year ago she would still have Budweiser as a major sponsor, the most popular driver in the sport driving for her, and more importantly Dale Earnhardt Inc. would mean something other than a memory of something her late husband created.