THE STRAIGHTAWAY
by Siddy Hall
TERESA EARNHARDT: NASCAR OWNER
Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s proclamations during SpeedWeeks in Daytona promises to provide fans with a view of a power struggle which is rarely seen in sports. In this modern age of free agency, teams and fans often have to wrestle with the decisions of individual athletes and where they choose to offer their services. These decisions often leave fans feeling jubilant or helpless as players arrive or leave town at their own choosing.
As Earnhardt, Jr. completes the final year of his contract in 2007, it’s not just money that is being requested to maintain his services, but ownership. Perhaps even 100% ownership – of three teams. The three-car DEI Racing stable is currently owned by Teresa Earnhardt, the widow of Dale Sr, and stepmother to Dale, Jr. Talk about a complicated stepfamily.
The most successful NASCAR car owners tend to be ones who can build a race car. Jack Roush can build cars. So can Robert Yates and Rick Hendrick. Whenever some Big Money arrives to the sport and tries to compete they usually turn to these teams for help on their motors. But it’s still not enough to compete. People with money lose to people with money and car-building capabilities. The only exception to this has been Joe Gibbs.
Dale Earnhardt Sr. formed his racing organization just before his death. It was an unusual set-up from the beginning. While driving the 3-car for Richard Childress Racing, he chose to start a two-car team that he didn’t drive for. This was unprecedented. Dale was setting up for retirement. He would continue to drive for Richard Childress and make bushels of money while setting up for ownership when he hung up his steering wheel. Then of course, Earnhardt died at Daytona.
Then along comes Teresa Earnhardt, Racer Widow and now Race Car owner.
For many years, when her husband Dale was alive, TV viewers would frequently see her along pit row during pre-race telecasts walking with Earnhardt. She appeared to be the Queen Bee among the drivers’ wives and boyfriends, with Jeff Gordon’s ex-wife, Brooke, holding court as the Princess of this group. The funny thing was, in this trophy-wife, teased hair, silicon implant world of racer wifedom, you never heard any fan make a snide remark about Teresa. She had a gravity about her that commanded respect. In turn, she seemed to lend some off-track credibility to her husband. He was a simple man who seemed to have made a shrewd choice for a wife – one with beauty and brains.
All My Stepchildren: Dale Jr. (top) and Teresa's tenuous relationship provides NASCAR with another soap opera subplot
Still, Teresa Earnhardt cannot build a race car and she’s in charge of an outfit that has slowly been decaying. What’s worse, she publicly called out the most valuable asset in her company, Dale Jr. Her comments to the Wall Street Journal last December that questioned her stepson’s commitment to driving a race car over seeking celebrity were sheer stupidity. And Dale Jr. was stung badly, especially since he certainly must question Teresa’s own on-track commitment to the team.
Dale Jr. holds all the cards. He’s the most valuable driver in racing. He can race wherever he wants. After Dale Sr. passed away, Richard Childress pulled the 3-car off the track and he continues to retain the rights to that car number. He’s told Junior that the ride is there for him whenever he wants it. That’s an open invitation. If Dale Jr. were to accept Childress’s offer for 2008, it’s a decision that would send fans’ tongues wagging as they never have in the history of NASCAR.
So Dale Jr. has all the options. He can race for Childress. He can buy his stepmother out or somehow he can stay put with Teresa in charge. The latter seems the least likely to happen.
No comments:
Post a Comment