Dale Earnhardt, Jr and Martin Truex, Jr to drive for JR Motorsports in 2008?
Quote selected text Published May 9th, 2007 in NASCAR News
Dave Moody reported Wednesday afternoon’s Sirius Speedway that Dale Earnhardt Jr. will announce tomorrow at JR Motorsports, that both he and Martin Truex, Jr. will drive in the Nextel Cup Series for JR Motorsports in 2008.
Hendrick Motorsports will provide engines for the team. (false…see update below)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has scheduled the announcement for Thursday morning at JR Motorsports, the race team he owns and his sister, Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, runs in Mooresville, N.C. We do not know the time as of yet.
UPDATE-7:30PM PDT:
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is expected to become a high-profile NASCAR free agent Thursday morning after announcing he won’t return to the team founded by his late father for the 2008 NASCAR season.
A news conference is scheduled for 11 a.m. at the Mooresville headquarters of JR Motorsports, a team owned by Earnhardt Jr. and run by his sister, Kelley Elledge.
JR Motorsports fields a car in the NASCAR Busch Series, but contrary to reports on Wednesday, Earnhardt Jr. is not expected to announce where he will drive after this year – just that it won’t be at DEI after his contract to drive the No. 8 Chevrolets there expires after this season.
A press conference is planned for 11:00am/et Thursday at JR Motorsports headquarters per a PR from the team and SPEED will interrupt regularly scheduled programming to go LIVE from the JR Motorsports race shop at 11:00am/et for a news conference with NASCAR Nextel Cup Series driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Editor’s note: What appears to be clear is that Dale Earnhardt, Jr will not be back at DEI. If he doesn’t announce driving for his own team he will be free to sign with any team who wants him. This would certainly put him back in play at RCR, a team that many fans would like Jr to go to.
UPDATE: Dale Earnhardt Jr. stated that he will not re-sign with Dale Earnhardt Inc., the company his father founded, and will be a free agent for the 2008 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series season.
- Truex starts contract discussions with DEI
- Truex to drive for JR Motorsports at Bristol
- DEI announces Martin & Almirola in the No 8, Regan Smith
- Report: DEI close to re-signing Martin Truex, Jr
- Earnhardt, Jr considering moving JR Motorsports to Sprint Cup
Umm. I find this intruging but untill it is officail i won’t believes would be awesome if this is true.
I agree. Let’s wait to see if it really happens. But really how
could you go wrong with this decision? Driving for your own team?
Having a Hendrick motor? It’s the best of both worlds…
i know its not official but omg that would be so awesome if it turns out to be true!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So would Junior buy out the rest of Martin’s contract?
Hope its true. I cant believe Theresa wanted Jr. to pay for his share of DEI. If he leaves DEI is done. Glad Truex could go with him since he doesnt deserve to be stuck on some 2nd rate team.
nice. Hendrick engines!!! woo! should be good. Too bad Jr cant qual very well and he wont have the ownership points to fall back on….so he’s going to have to work on that on this upcoming off season
Although I would love to see Jr get control of DEI it would
awesome if he raced for his own company in the Nextel cup.
I would be totally behind the decision. I’m a Dale Jr.
fan for life no matter which way it goes…I go with
him!!! I am sure that most all of Jr’s fan will follow suit.
I really don’t think this is a good idea. Driver/owners generally
aren’t successful anymore.
he wouldnt totally run it, his sister would be in charge of alot of it
I’ll tell you this: DEI will have nothing left when Jr gets through. This is personal for him and I don’t blame him one bit. He’s the biggest reason by far that DEI is ANYWHERE and they insulted him basically.
He will take the sponsors and most of the crews. DEI is finished people. Go Jr!!!!!!
I find it funny that Jr fans are happy he’s going to have Hendrick’s engines, but would be upset if he drove for them. Hmmmmm……
Anyway, if it is in fact true, it’ll be a tough couple of years in the beginning, but I believe it’s the best move for Jr. Jr and Truex will make a great team and will eventually be Chase contenders every year. Good luck to them!
ha. hahaha. Wait. I just have to spark this debate in a spin-off of
the last comment about happy he’s running Hendrick’s motors. If Jr
HAD gone to Hendrick, would he have been accused of cheating as much
as the rest of the drivers?
I ask this because, quite simply, the responses will be fun to read ^_^.
And don’t even think of bashing me for it, because I’m a Dale Jr fan
through n through. I just know I’m gonna enjoy reading the answers.
He isnt the only one who uses Hendrick motors in their cars!
And yes, It will be a rough beginning- but can only be a good thing or him & his sister.
DEI will never be what it once was…..Thank Theresa for that!
Go JR! GO!
I think at this point using Hendrick engines would be a good thing,
I think they have done home work & have the COT where it needs to be,
and are winning consistantly….why shouldnt JR have those engines too??
DEI will be just a museum
Whoever he drives for, he is over-rated at best. His own team will not help.
go ask michael waltrip how it is to be an owner/driver…then DW…then Ricky Rudd…then Bill Elliott…Then robby Gordon…
well we all saw this coming. i dont think jr will be too bad drivin for his own team. remember he did say that dei was takin cars to jr motorsports shop to use certain equipment that dei didnt have itself. it gonna be tough on him not havin owner points but he’ll be better off than alot of startup teams in cup.
I think it would be a great move for Jr. and martin Truex.
It’s just sad that a company his father built for the future
of his kids won’t be run by a true Earnhardt such as Jr.
His father will be watching over whatever he does and I know
he will be successful.
Jr. using Hendrick motors.
What will the die hard Jr. fans think of that. We all know how much they( Jr’s fans) hate Hendrick.
Think of it they will be rooting for Jr. to win, but at the same time they are rooting for Hendrick. I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
woo hoo!! Good luck Jr!! I have always been a JR fan and I never had anything against Hendricks. Mainly because I’m a Jimmie fan as well. So this should be really good!
This just gets stranger and stranger, but hey, that’s good news.
I really don’t think it is Hendrick people hate. It is Jeoff Gordan they hate. There is no reason to hate anybody on Hendrick Motorsports, them guys in the garage have got their stuff TOGETHER! You can’t blame them for that at all. But that don’t mean I have to like Gordon. Glad Jr. won’t be his teammate, glad he is going to be getting good engines, questionable about his own team though…….. It REALLY costs ALOT of money to have your own team and to be competative. A couple of bad finishes or some rookie like that Montoya putting you in the wall and your going to be coming out of pocket REAL hard! We’ll see…….. wish he would go to RCR though. I think that would be a much better move. I saw a picture on photobucket and it was the number 8 in a black Bud paintjob. Sick thought! Make the revenue from the fans and put more into the car and build some monster rocket that sticks to the ground like glue……. let me stop. I have to go now. Think I might have to change my shorts……lol!
NO NOT HENDRIX MOTORS!!!!! Go with RCR there better and they dont pay NASCAR to win races. I wish him and DEI would work it out or something that doesnt let Hendrix in I hate his enitre team. I want Jr. to do good but not with Hendrix now i gotta root for someonne else because im not rooting for someone running for Hendrix
This will be one of the biggest mistakes ever. Just because hes running a Hendrick’s engine dont mean nothing.
I don’t think it is a bad thing at all. I predict Jr. will be the top-performing car owner/driver in the series.
I think that Jr., should go to RCR, as a driver. Maybe someday put Jr. in the black #3A car. I think that RCR is his road to the future. And then if Jr. wants to be a owner/driver , then go for it with RCR help.
If he’s supposed to PAY for what is already rightfully his and his
sibings; since he hasn’t the proper equipment in the DEI garage and
has to borrow tools etc from JR MOTORSPORTS then he’s better off
on his own, racing for his company with a Hendrix engine.
When the heir to a coprporation such as DEI is handicapped by sufficient
equipment and backing then what good is being there at all??
Dale Sr. would be totallt totally PISSED OFF at the way
HIS company is being neglected,mismanaged, & screwed up!!
I think this is just the beginning of round #1 and there are more round’s to come.It’s not over yet ,who know’s if this will ever end.I think dale did the right thing if this is true.DEI will not be the same without him,as for theresa she is just plain dumb,who is going to feel comfortable racing for her and dale will be on the same track as the driver who will replace him,kinda uncomfortable would’nt ya think!!!
Just look what Mark did as soon as he stepped into Hendrix, to me that says something. The bottom line is Jr is a racer and Thresa is not. Jr will have enough support with in the ranks of nascar that he will be just fine. Its just a shame what she has turned DEI into. With the rumors of buying yates racing, and then moving the team to the ford camp wether they have success of fall on thier faces DEI will be changed forever - and not for the better. It is sad to see Big E’s ownership legacy to go down that path.
Idk if i like dis move. look at MWR, they got DJ and they suck, RGM, robbie cant do crap, it mite take a yr or 2 for dem 2 started
Has nobody failed to read the column at espn.com that says sources say that this
information is inaccurate. But if it does happen do you not realize unless he gives
a lot of doe to DEI he will lose the # 8 car number. DEI owns it.
This is great for Jr. All his fans will spends millions on new merchandise, Bud will go with him , he can do another limited edition car ( like the Mote Carlo that my friend owns like this one seen here http://chicago.craigslist.org/sox/car/322712916.html ). He is set. He will have better backing with Chevy than Theresa. His sister will have so many incoming calls from a crap load of sponsor to get involved. according to the marketing reports last year he had 50 million dollars more revenue than Jimmie Johnson (the champ). As for being out of the top 35, give me a break, he will have no problem making the races.
I Think it will be a good thing. Jr Needs to step out on his own. Dad would be proud that he has the strength to stand on his own two feet.
Teresa will have her hands full losing JR. I hope he can get his stuf together and be a winning team. Maybe even take that first championship.
The realization of the matter is he may have hedrick engines but they
won’t be the same as Gordon’s as Johnson’s. You don’t see the other
drivers that use Hendrick engines running like those to. I think he
underestimates the struggle of brining up a new team, like what happend
to Robby Gordon, and look what it has done to Toyota this year.
Most of us that live here in nascar country NC realize that Teresa is a
power-happy, money-grabbing biatch thats gone from being a “houston” to
an “Earnhardt” …her one and only claim to fame so she’s just milking it to be just that…A BIATCH!!
If Jr. can make it with his Sister and on their own then I pray he does it
well and that Ms Teresa dies a lonely death at DEI.
She was Dale Sr’s biggest mistake!!
Go Jr.!!
We of course won’t know anything until tomorrow. I also heard on Tony’s show tonight, Daid Poole said he thinks Jr. is going to announce that he is a free agent. I think that is the best thing to do first. See what kind of options come up with that first. Then if it’s not anything he wants, he can still run his own deal. I think it’s a shame that Dale Sr. left this co. for the kids, and this is how it all goes down. Terrible. Looking forward to tomorrow!
This comments goes back to Racen big. You don’t have any right to say
that Tersa ways Dale Sr.’s biggest mistake. It took him 3 marriages until
he was happy. Tersa made him happy and had a lot of business savy that helped
build that corp. I’m not saying she is not making a mistake but you don’t have
the right to make a comment like that about someones wife that he chose to life
the rest his life with. Thats saying you don’t agree with the beloved Dale Sr. you love.
Doesn’t show much for your respect in his opinion. Considering marriage is one
of the biggest of them all.
I hope he goes to RCR if he decides to leave. I’d love to see him drive the #3 car.
If he goes to Hendrick their goes his fan base, and i’m not even a fan of his(he is nothin like his dad drivin wise
and his dad is still my all time fav driver)
I think it will be cool to see Jr. on his own or go to RCR, just hope we don’t see him
in a rainbow colored BUD car.
This is the best news ever!
The only thing that I’m not cool with is the Hendrick Engines. I know he can get something else. But, All in all, best news ever:)
Why do people always bring up Jr. driving the 3? What a freakin disgrace that would be.
A disgrace? He’s probably the only driver who would be allowed to driver the 3 car. Earnhardt was a greatr driver but I can’t imagine he wouldn’t want to see his son driving his car. Get a clue.
Jr. does not deserve to race the #3 i wouldn’t like to see him driving it.. i dont know why anyone else would.. he is never gonna be even close to a driver his dad was.
Maybe as a tribute to his father? Imagine that.
Screw tributes. Senior would have no problem with Junior in a 3 car, so why should we? Childress has always said his intention was to hold that number in case an Earnhardt came along and needed it. The number 3 is an important and powerful number regardless. I’m sure Junior got the 8 in the beginning because it looks like a closed up 3. Just chop the 8 in half and you got a 3.
There’s nothing better that could happen to keep the 3 from only being a museum center piece for the rest of eternity, which I’m sure Senior would hate. Get it on the track!
I agree Axel 100%
Even though Jr has only announced that he has left DEI, we here at AutoRacingSport.com still believe that Dale Jr will run his own team. Everything that we’ve heard STILL points to this.
We’ll see….