30 to 45 days to get Dale Earnhardt, Jr control of DEI or???
Quote selected text Published April 10th, 2007 in NASCAR News
Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, who handles the business affairs for her brother - NASCAR’s most popular driver - says she hopes that Earnhardt Jr.’s contract negotiations will be either completed or broken off in 30 to 45 days. Dale Earnhardt Inc. was founded by their father, Dale Earnhardt, and is currently owned by their stepmother, Teresa.
“The idea is that that company would be left to the children, and we want to make sure that there is a formidable business left there we can take on for our generation and then our children and then on and on,” Earnhardt Elledge said. “It’s very important to us. It’s just a matter of us getting on the same playing field and where we are.
“Part of that is the fact that the [DEI] business is not where it could be over the last several years. It’s going to take something to get that back, and we’re in a position of time. We want Dale to drive 10 or 12 more years. We’ve got to get on the race track and win and get competitive and win championships. We have to have a situation that provides that for him.”
Earnhardt Elledge says Earnhardt Jr. still wants at least 51 percent ownership, control of licensing products with his image and a commitment from DEI to be competitive.
“Fifty-one [percent ownership] is the right number because that gives us control,” Earnhardt Elledge says. “We’ll take 75 or 95 or whatever we work out. At the end of the day, 51 gives you control.
“And we want to control. … I can’t say it’s [the breaking point]. We’ve entertained all of the ideas of all the family, the kids, we’ve entertained all kinds of different things. We just keep throwing things out on the table. There is no breaking point except a day, a timeline.”
In other words, it will have to be done by the end of May or early June.
“We’ve said it to each other. Max and I are very honest with each other. It’s like at some point, we’ve got to get to 2008,” Earnhardt Elledge said. “They do with sponsors and teams and drivers and we do. So at some point, the breaking point will be time. I’d say 30-45 days.”
Part of that breaking point will be to see a firm plan for DEI to increase its resources. DEI teams now bring cars to JR Motorsports’ shop to use a piece of equipment that tests how the car handles because DEI does not have that equipment.
“There hasn’t been someone solid in the business putting the resources back into the race team,” Earnhardt Elledge said. “Just for them to even come over and use our pull-down plate [for car analysis] - and that’s a resource that they don’t have that major teams have.
Bookmark to:
- JR Motorsports to handle Dale Jr’s licensing rights, not Hendrick
- Dale Earnhardt, Jr not willing to pay the steep price of DEI control?
- Kelley Earnhardt Elledge not sure deal with DEI and Dale Jr will get done
- Dale Earnhardt to be honored today
- GM Statement on Dale Jr./DEI
Give the kids control, its what sr. would have wanted! they sure as hell know what they want and are doing better than teresa!
like the saying goes bloods thicker than water the kids are at the right to get the company more then the gold digger the day sr died he told her that he loves her did she says anything back to him no she didnt
The bottom lines is Teresa is holding on to the only thing she has left from Dale. She looks at it this way they built that empire together but the idea was so Dales children would be set for life and so they wouldnt grow up trying to make races and living off of fried green tomatoes and a bottle of wine ( Old School Earnhardt fans know what that means) DEI used to be 1 of the elite 5. When Dale Jr suggested to merge with Childress T E said no. Now Childress merged with Hendrick for their motors Look at them now. To be sucessful in this overly commercialized kingdom of NASCAR you must go all out to produce. Sponsors spend an average of 20 million a year to be recognized. What people do not seem to understand Nascar drove this sport into the ground with its GREED. Years ago it used to cost $750.00 per team to enter a car. You could imagine what it cost today. Dover Speedway is now paying what 18 million for 4 days of racing? To reap the rewards and to try to deal with the millions of dollars of changes NASCAR seems to think that the teams get for themselves, that Nascar cant get a slice of - the teams must spend more and more money for equipment because the sponsors want them to be in Victory lane. I race dirt cars - it is all the way down to us in the roots of racing. You have to spend money to keep up with the jonses ( NASCAR) its ashame look at the TV Ratings now they are talking about going global? Theres that word again GREED.
It seems like all racing anymore has become so costly that no one can afford to do it but the same people we see every raceday. Nascar has made it a spec series anyway. Nascar might as well make the cars and sell them to the teams. Like the Iroc thing. WWNascar!!! Think Nascar is making alittle money? NHRA is a nonprofit organization also. Right! Like Nascar the NHRA has made dragracing it so expensive some weekend there won’t be enough cars at the track to field a 16 car first round. Racing sure isn’t like it used to be. It used to be fun and everyone could do it. Now it’s hard just to afford the tickets to take your family to a race let alone compete.
It wouldn’t hurt my feelings to see a Budweiser #3 on the track.
Wow, a real slap in the face to Teresa. This negotiation is going to be very difficult because people, actually Max Siegel, is going to be trying to save his job. Whenever ownership changes hands in a company it is usually followed by sweeping changes. The whole mentality of “let’s get our guys in” takes over and heads start to roll. If Jr gets majority ownership it is only logical that Kelly will take over Max’s job. And Max was handpicked by Teresa, so Teresa doesn’t want to see her business decisions questioned, and ultimately discarded. Kelly and Dale are clearly saying this organization is suffering from poor management, and poor decision making, and they feel they can do better. They owe it to all 3 of DEI’s teams to get them the best people, best equipment, and the best results. Dale Jr is carrying that organization right now with his popularity, and they are not rewarding him with the caliber of equipment he should have. Aside from the 8 car, the 1 car and the 15 car’s performance over the last few years has been embarrassing and unacceptable to an organization with DEI’s money and resources. Teresa and her people have had their fair chance to build the organization into a winning organization and haven’t been able to accomplish that. They may argue that it’s an extremely profitable organization, but that is 99% due to the fact that the Earnhardt name is on it. Last time I checked aside from business it is still racing. And being a successful racing organization means winning races and championships. There’s no excuse for Dale Jr not to go to victory lane at least 4 times this year and for Truex to win at least 1 race. It’s time Kelly and Dale took their shot.
Dale Sr built the team for his kids to have in the future. I think Dale Jr should have majority ownership. Not sayin that Teresa can’t have ownership, which I think she still should, but I think Dale Jr should have MAJORITY ownership of the team.
I say that Teresa should just give Jr what he wants, because he can run the company better than her becuse he knows what going on in the car and the track and he should run the company!!!
Dale Jr should have the control of this team. She’ll still get her money. That’s all she cares about anyway
teresa….get out .let jr and kelly haveit.they know what they are doing.you havent done
anything for those teams.if sr was still here they would be a championship caliber organization
do all dei fans a favor and move over.if you lose jr….well you lose it all
It’s sad that DEI doesn’t have the necessary equipment to make those cars the best they can be. The fact that Junior went from 40th in points to 11th in the first few races is a testament to just how hard his crew works and how talented he really is. If Teresa can’t give him the equipment to make his team the best it can possibly be, then Junior needs full ownership so he can call the shots.
Dale Earnhardt Junior, if you are reading this; I think I speak for all of your fans that we would love, and abosolutely adore seeing your daddys car again. I am a Gordon fan, but to say the least I used to hate little E. I didnt really knwo why but that al lthe Earnhard fans hated Gordon. But for the least I can say is that Junior is probaly one of the best drivers out there if not the best. He drives everyweekend and knows how far he can push his car, and he still get more out of it than other can. He is sitting fifth in points with what, equipment thats probaly no better than Waltrips toyotas, or Pettys dodges. Look at the performance of the 1 and 15. They are doing a good job themselves with that equipment, and what Junior can do is amazing. If Junior was put in any car, with the caliber of the Hendricks or Gibbs, look what he could accomplish. I say that he should go to Gibbs, because him and Tony are really good friends and I think the teamate chemistry would be there. Also, for a correction of the above statement, Junior was psuhing a complete team merger with RCR, not just an engine program. Hendrick and Joe Gibbs moved funding around so where Gibbs races Hendrik engines. Supposedly that deal ends after 08 and Joe Gibbs just purchased a 45,000 sq. feet complex last year and has already began developing for the new chevy engine design, and half of that complex is their COT devlopment. Hendrick also houses their own COT complex and thus their performance has bene Hendrick Gibbs 1-2 in team runnings.
I say Give the kids ownership and let them control there destiny. I belive DEI has fallen down in technogy and They were No1 but they are bringing up the rear now. I think its time for new blood at the top. Let Teresa go on and work out with Menard if that’s what she wants. I say she should have a share in the Company as dale’s widow but Its time to let the kids have their Dads company and let them take a crack at running it. If she loses Jr. What will she have left? The money maker will be gone and she will be left with nothing. If Dale Jr’s team has to lend DEI use of their machinery to set up car’s I’d say Old DEI has fallen behind and even Jr’s Bush team has better eq2uipment what a slap in the face of DEI not having the equipment they need to win races muchless championships.
Maybe it’s time for JR to move on and go to Childress and run that No3.
Childress has shown a turn around this year and it was because Childress saw the writting on the wall. Wake up Teresa and smell the roses.
.Dale always said it was for his kids. He took great care in getting DEI started. His attention to detail in their restrictor plate program was immaculate. That just shows how much care was placed in other areas. Now look at it. He gave drivers he believed in rides (Steve Park, Michael, Junior). They’ve all fallen victims to DEI’s mismanagement in Theresa’s hands. The final piece is about to be forced out by either the pity she has for herself or her own greed. If Dale was still alive… I don’t think I even need to say it. It hurts thinking about it. Its very sad. I hope she’s not the arrogant self-centered person she seems to be, because I really don’t want her to be that. She doesn’t seem to be anything else, though.
DEI belongs to ALL heirs of Dale Sr,
but Theresa needs to step back and allow the DEI team
itself to develope winning championships,
not only JR as a driver,but other drivers
in the DEI team deserve the same rights.
It’s obvious when a #1 name in racing, such as DEI
doesn’t have substantial equipment that has to be
BORROWED, Sr would’ve had a first class, 7 time championship
COW
Dale jr.should get more than 51%.I think Dale Sr. would have wanted to see his son dale jr. to run what he started when he was young.Dale Sr. loved racing because his father was a race car driver and he loved what his father was.He alway’s said he wanted to do what his father did.Dale Sr followed in his dad’s footstep’s.Why is dale jr. named after his father because he wanted to have a son to do the same thing he did with his father and to have his son dale take over what should have lasted longer for dale sr. but it didn’t .Dale jr. to take over the name dale earnhardt and keep that company going ,with him in control.So one day Dale jr. will do the same thing when and if he has a little boy named dale.
Where are all the original DEI employees?? How many are left from when Dale Sr. was alive??? Not many.
I can see it both ways. Teresa did help create DEI but on the other side - she had been an absent owner since Dale’s death.
Is the 51% per Dale Jr only or is that part of Kelly and Kerry’s inheritance?? Leaving 49% for Teresa and Taylor Nicole??
Rumor has it that Max Seigal is related by marriage to the Houston family. So he is not a total stranger.
Where does this DEI entertainment division come into play????
Could the removal of Goodwrench as primary sponsor on the 29 mean there is a backdeal of sorts going on for the #3 Goodwrench w/ Budweiser ?????
Curious minds want to know???
Corine
Granite Falls, NC