Dale Earnhardt, Jr to make major announcement on 2008 plans Wednesday morning-UPDATED 3
Quote selected text Published June 12th, 2007 in NASCAR News
Ginn and Gibbs NOT involved in press conference…Childress out of the country
ESPN reporting that Earnhardt, Jr will indeed go to Hendrick replacing Kyle Busch in the #5
Report: Kyle Busch will essentially switch with Dale Earnhardt, Jr and go to DEI
Jr could drive the #25. Busch may not be the one leaving
SPEED will interrupt regularly scheduled programming Wednesday morning, June 13 at 10:00am/et in anticipation of a live press conference from JR Motorsports about the future plans of Nextel Cup Series driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Officials with Ginn Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing each said their teams were not involved in the news conference while a spokesperson for Richard Childress Racing said the team owner is out of the country on a hunting trip and that he is not expected to be back in the United States tomorrow.
At 11:00am/et, John Roberts will host a special live edition of The SPEED Report, with Bob Dillner on site in Mooresville, N.C. The press conference is expected to last one hour.
At 7:00pm/et, SPEED will present a special half-hour edition of The SPEED Report to summarize the day’s events. And XM Radio Sports Nation (XM channel 144) will also air the press conference live.
UPDATE:
Marty Smith reports: Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Wednesday will announce his intent to drive the #5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy in 2008, multiple sources with intimate knowledge of negotiations told ESPN.com Tuesday on condition of anonymity. Hendrick Motorsports declined comment Tuesday, and e-mails and calls sent to Earnhardt’s representation were not returned.
Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, who has handled contract negotiations for her brother, declined to comment on the report. There was some speculation that the wheels are already in motion to plant Earnhardt in the #5 now driven by Kyle Busch before season’s end, but Dale Earnhardt, Inc. president Max Siegel, contacted by phone Tuesday, discounted that scenario, saying Earnhardt would remain in the #8 through season’s end.
Sources said there are indications that Busch may not finish the year in the #5. Busch is under contract with HMS through the end of next season, and Hendrick had been working to sign the 22-year old driver to an extension. Jeff Dickerson, an attorney for Busch, told ESPN.com that “a lot of things may or may not occur. Out of respect for Hendrick Motorsports, we’re not really sure what’s going on yet. But we’re trying. I don’t think anything’s changed yet. I can not tell you that Kyle is out of the #5 for 2008.” It is unknown whether sponsor Budweiser will follow Earnhardt to Hendrick.
ESPN.com
UPDATE 2:
Jayski.com is reporting that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will end up at Hendrick Motorsports, taking Kyle Busch’s roster spot. As to what happens to Busch, he’ll take Junior’s place at Dale Earnhardt, Incorporated.
UPDATE 3:
AutoRacingSpsort.com Editors note: We are hearing that Jr could drive the #25 Hendrick entry moving Mears to the #5. This is assuming that Busch is out which we are also hearing is NOT a done deal yet. Mears could be the odd man out.
Bookmark to:
- Waltrip to announce 2008 plans
- Dale Earnhardt, Jr and Martin Truex, Jr to drive for JR Motorsports in 2008?
- Dale Earnhardt, Jr to drive for Hendrick Motorsports in 2008-UPDATE
- SPEED to air Earnhardt, Jr press conference-UPDATE
- Statement from Teresa Earnhardt on Dale Earnhardt, Jr’s departure from DEI
It very well might be Hendrick. I’ve heard Kyle Busch has asked to be released from his Hendrick contract. That wouldn’t surprise me. He bailed on Roush before, now he’ll bail on Hendrick. Not sure where he thinks he’ll go, but it could benefit Jr.
Its a rumor on Hendrick, they say you asked to comment Hendrick and was told they cant tell you bout Busch, or Dale, and you assume they wont tell you because they got him. Have you asked to comment Gibbs, or Ginn. I know they asked RCR by the article, yet hes on vacation. And also just cause hes on vacation doesnt mean hes not going to RCR. We’ll see dont believe anything you read other then the point hes making the announcement tomorrow, rumors will float all the way til he announces, most likely all of it are rumors, or just really good guesses that someone made and was right.
ill listen t that
ESPN just reported that Marty Smith has confirmed that Jr has signed with Hendrick.
Marty has now taken it one step further and announced Jr will be driving the 5 car. I guess Kyle Busch will be released.
Finally if JR goes to Hendrick, the entire Nascar community will see how incredably over-rated he is..
NO MORE EXCUSES!!!!!
OMG if this is true…wow. Junior JJ and Gordon…what a dream team. Well Jr if you wanted to win championships you went to the right place..
yup jr will be driving for hendrix next year….and if any jr fans bail
becuause of this it will be for the better….lets get rid of the wannabe
jr fans so that the true die hard jr fans who could care less where he
races as long as he races can show wat true jr fans r like
id love to see Jr in our stables. he’ll thrive there. but then of course, its been rumors he’s going everywhere, so as much as i wish he would annouce today to kill the whispers, were all going to have to wait until tomorrow!!!!!
Marty Smith is a jacka__, for starters.
Don’t believe the rumor mill. I’ll wait til tomorrow to see if this
rumor is discounted just like all the rest have been.
OMG!! I love it! I love it! I love it!
IF it happens, I am telling all of you that Jr will have a championship within 2 years!
It is what his dad would want for him. The Hendricks have been a great family friend to the Earnhardts and allow me to say “WELCOME JUNIOR NATION FANS TO HENDRICK MOTOR SPORTS!”
Now with me being a Jimmie J. fan, CAN WE ALL JUST GET ALONG NOW?
Brian you are crazy! Kyle was never signed with Roush. His Brother Kurt was??? How often do you watch the sport? Kurt now drives for penske and Kyle has never changed his team.
Marty Smith is a pretty smart guy, he tells it like it is, and if he comes across
as an asshole good, at least not every reporter is the same. Man I wouldn’t have
even considered this but if Marty is in on it then man this has a high % chance.
Either way, Jr will lose more than 1/2 his fan base if this is true, and i’ll bet money
on that
Wow… As a Tony Stewart/JGR fan, I was hoping to land JR in a 4th Gibbs car next year, but to be honest, after I heard Kyle might be gone from HMS, I was more excited about possibly getting him than JR!
I think that if Kyle went to Gibbs, he could learn a whole heck of a lot from Tony, and I don’t really even mean in-car stuff as much as I do off the track stuff… Seems like Tony has already been down the road that Kyle’s going down now!
I will wait until the press confrence tomorrow to find out. I WILL Support Jr no matter what team he goes with.
Dear love ya,
I must watch the sport more than you do because if you did watch it you would know that Kyle road his brother’s coat tails to a ride with Roush when he was younger. Since you obviously don’t believe me here’s an excerpt from his biography.com entry. Get your facts straight because I’ve already got mine straight.
Busch began racing at the age of 13, following in his brother’s footsteps to race in the still-new everyman’s racing circuit, the Legends Series. After 65 Legends wins, Busch moved up to NASCAR’s late model series, winning ten races and signing on with Roush Racing.
Still just a junior in high school, Busch made his Truck Series debut with Roush in 2001… then shocked the NASCAR world by bolting for Hendrick.
NOOO! I hate Hendrick Motorsports! Actually just Gordon! I love Jr…$@#@! Whatever…Im a Gibbs fan so I actually could care less!
GO SMOKE!!!!!
ok this has to be ________.i dont think hendricks will let kyle bush go
if so he would have let jeff gordon go when he was wreckin everything on that he took to the track …if u compare kyle bush to casey mears who has done a beter job .allot of people hate on ole shrub cause he has the balls to flat foot that car lile there driver is scared to do….i do see jr with hendricks but ib the 25 car and not the five..hendricks motorsports will be the stongest team in nascar history ..and if u were a true jr fan it wouldnt matter what car he drove or number he wore u would follow your driver till the very end..you just prob jumped on the fan bandwagon and never even saw jr run a car b-4 he was in cup and bush ….
I call BS. ESPN also stated that Jr. reached a contract deal with DEI for 51% of ownership before all this team switching business. ESPN is just another rumor mill.
If Jr. does go to HMS it would be even better if Hendricks/Budweiser bought the # 8 from DEI, NASCAR rules does allow a # change as long as the team stays with the same owner, between HMS and Bubweiser they could cough up enough $$$$$$ to get it and DEI seems to need $$$ sence they have fallen behind at the shop. Besides that it would be better if DEI ran a diffrent # anyway couse a lot of fans will be rooten against that driver, team and sponser, so for the sponsers sake if for nouthing else they should use a diffrent # and if there not going to use it than they might as well sell it. I will be a Jr fan no matter who he drives for, who his sponser is or what his # is but not seeing a red #8 bud car in the track won’t be the same.
We find it strange that Hendrick would let Busch go. Like him or not, he’s a big talent who needs to mature. It could be that Hendrick doesn’t want to buy out Mears’ contract when Busch is at the end of his contract. We aren’t buying the Busch angle just yet and we are digging for more….
I just saw were Kyle Busch might go to DEI to replace Jr. so why not swap #’s and let kellogs go to DEI then the only thing that will be diffrent will be the car owners.
I just saw where RCR has a forth entry this weekend, the #33 ???????
gkirb,
We have not seen that. Strangely enough, it appears RCR was never a front-runner in the Jr sweepstakes which is, to say the least, surprising.
Having said that, who knows what could happen? Jr might announce he’s partnering Lewis Hamilton at McLaren and that Fernando Alonso will drive #8 Bud Chevy!!
Last week, Hammond said on FOX that Jr. was definitely going to Gibbs. We’ll find out the whole story tomorrow. Remember the last time the rumor mill got going? No suspension.
Exactly. One moron says Gibbs, one moron says Hendricks. Moron fans
think he’s gonna drive a Dale Sr replica car at RCR even though he’s
said he won’t until the end of his career, if then even. Believing
what flows out of the rumor mill is just all-around moronic, no?
I’ll believe what he says tomorrow, if I’m up early enough to watch
it. If not, thank god for this site. haha.
Editor:
Jayski.com had the preliminary Entry list for michigan on its site, they say that Scott Whimmer will drive it and Holiday inn will be the sponser.
Lol Alonso in NASCAR, he would get his rear kicked..hes like schmui…cant win in equal equipment. plus who would want to be a team mate to him..?
*Scott Wimmer
If jr was smart, he would think twice about going to HMS..he KNOWS he will loose alot of his fans, and because he isn’t THAT great of a driver, the fans are what make him or break him. I support JR. If he goes to Gibbs, I will be very happy. Stewart, Hamlin, JJ and JR, what could be better? Don’t believe ESPN all the time..right now everyone is running around like a chicken without a head spreading rumors because its what THEY want JR to do. Yes, where JR goes IS a big deal…but we just have to wait until tomorrow. I WILL be up at 10am to watch it. I’m setting my automatic program timer RIGHT NOW on my TV for SPEED @ 10.
Good luck JR..make the right choice.
I kinda hope he DOES go to HMS. It shows that he cares more about his
career and racing than all the media and PR bulls__t. And that he
realizes his true fans will follow him wherever he goes, and the rest
don’t matter. I hadn’t thought of it that way until just now.
On the RCR thing…something to consider is that I don’t think Jr was at all happy that RCR and DEI are starting a technical partnership (engines). There is some serious bad blood between jr and his stepmom, make no mistake about that.
I can’t wait until tomorrow morning. The suspense is killing me!! I will follow him where ever he goes. Even if it means HMS. I just want to see him start winning some races!!!
This is major.
I am glad to see that some of his fans don’t care and will stick by him wherever he goes, those that don’t were never really fans of his no matter what they say.
Lots of rumors always and I am waiting too until I hear it from him tomorrow.
I have wanted him to go to a team that has proven they can win races and championships to see how great of a driver he is, I don’t think we have seen that yet. If he goes to HMS or Gibbs I think we will find out.
Editor:
It is no secret that Jr. and and her have big problems but the one thing that I think is funny is now that Jr. is leaving DEI is giong to spend the $ on the that Jr. was upset that they didn’t already have such as a seven point shaker and a dedicated test team and a better motor program, although I think the motor deal with RCR was in the works befor Jr. made his decission to leave DEI
Ahhhh… Another NASCAR conspiracy in unfolding. Not only do they allow HMS to win on the track, they are getting the most popular driver. Where is Mulder and Scully when we need them? If it’s all true, it will be truly fun to watch, and listen to all the HMS haters whine or change their tunes. And if HMS unloads Shrub as is being reported, it just doesn’t get any better than that. Talent or not, that kid and his brother are only good for one thing in NASCAR and that is they definitely give you someone to root against each week.
BTW - I can’t imagine anyone thinking Junior doesn’t have talent. And for anyone to think 1/2 of his fans will defect is insane. I personally have been an antagonist to Junior fans over the years, but it is his fans I root against. Not him. (Not even sure if that makes sense). He is one of the classiest drivers on and off the track. And I think for anyone to say otherwise tells you they are just jealous of his following.
NSCRfan-Not all of his fans are pricks. And those of us who aren’t
STILL come across that way occasionally because everyone automatically
hates us because of their own assumptions. You’re just fueling what
you hate by having that mindset. I appreciate that you realize he’s
classy though, but I just felt the need to point that out.
Yeah…I could have sworn they said 500 times that Hendrick is not taking Jr? He said he likes the four drivers he already has. They wouldn’t get rid of Mears. Mears has been improving greatly the last couples weeks and it shows. And why would he get rid of Busch? I really doubt Busch would want to leave Hendrick.
Just to clarify to everyone because we have received a few emails: Dale Earnhardt, Jr’s press conference is SUPPOSED to start at 11:00AM Eastern. SPEED’S coverage will start at 10:00AM Eastern.
I would tune in at 10AM just to be sure.
Who said the equipment in Nascar is equal????
so i was lookin in to the hole #33 thing and i don’t think that rcr is gonna spend the money to transport scott wimmer from kentucky to michigan for cup and busch
And Hammond had him going to Gibbs. Damn!
The suspense is killing me, over the last few weeks we have all heard this and heard that, only to learn later that something else was going to happen. Watch tomorrow morning Jr. is going to say he’s going to drive a Subaru and Bob Barker is going to be the owner, and Depends will sponsor.. I’ll believe it when HE says it.
Can not wait to see where Jr. goes - we will still be the biggest fans.Genny
Dale jr.- we hope you make the right choice for you and that Tony jr. will follow. Genny
Hendrick should give JR #3, because he WILL be the third best driver at Hendrick Racing, maybe even #4.
we shall see at 11 a.m i hope its a good choice whereever he goes i will still be a fan good luck to jr
why dont people believe marty smith on this one? he does do a rado show with jj. and casey mears is one of his good friends. AND hes good friends with junior. soooooo. if it was anyone else (cough cough *jeff hannod id say wait and see but it seems legit.
He still sucks ___ no matter where he goes…who cares about this no talent ass clown!
He is not his father…never will be PERIOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you call yourselves TRUE fans of his…wait til his ___ is in a Toyota, Ford, or Dodge…call yourselves fans then!!!!
Would you seriously shut the hell up? Obviously you don’t know what
you’re talking about. And I wouldn’t care what make or model he drove,
he’s still a good driver.
I have to agree, he is so average it hurts. Much like when Breanna looks in the mirror.
STFU Breanna…he is a horrible driver, doesn’t win races, never in title contention, an all around mediocre talent running off of his father’s name!!! Obviously not the car b/c he has the exact same equipment as Truex who has been pretty damn dominant the last few races I might say, it doesn’t matter what he’s in, he is no good…all the hype about him is WAY overrated…
Hasn’t JR only finished in the top five in points ONE TIME? Hell, that’s only one time more then me…..
Exactly…he pisses me off due to the fact that he overshadows TRUE champions like Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Terry Labonte, Dale Jarrett, etc. The man will never accomplish anything that they have ever done…and that disgusts me.
The true Jr fans will stay with Jr. But for every Jr fan that
leaves Jr, there is a Hendrick fan waiting to take their place.
It’ll be interesting to see how Jr does while driving the best
equipment in NASCAR. I think the fans that leave Jr. will come back
when he starts winning. Jeff, Jimmie, and Jr are very easy-going,
relaxed and smart racers and I think they are going to work really
well together.
Anonymous, you disgust me and i think i speak for all the other Jr fans out there! One good thing about Jr is that he can start almost in the back of the pack and come out with a top 10 win.
anonymous you are a retard in every sense of the word. Jr got 3 wins his rookie year truex got 0, and everyone wants to talk about mark martin missing races, jr already has 3-4 dnfs because he got wrecked at daytona, blown engine in cali, and got rear ended by busch at texas and was docked 100 points and he will still make the chase. sounds like a pretty resiliant driver to me. also growing up jr had it harder getting into racing than half the people out there, his dad didnt help him out till he put him in the dei busch car only after he had spent every penny he had racing late models around the south…he won 2 busch series title at a time when the series was packed with talent. and was on a good path when his dad died, humpy wheeler said it himself, that if dale sr hadnt died that jr has 40 victories and a few championships by this time in his career and having to deal with all that on top of being a driver is a pretty big feat. also he would already have a championship if nascar didnt dock him 25 points for saying shit in victory lane of talladegas chase race in 2004. so take your trash out of here…
If Jr is really going to Hendrick jsut think of all the Gordon fans that are going to be ticked off.
I’ll follow Jr where ever he goes!!
it will deff be interesting to see where he goes i am not a jr fan or or a hendrick fan but i can not see hms getting rid of bush the kid has too much talent just needs to mature i guess the world will find out tomm i bet this gets super bowl ratings
Anonymous, you should become friends with nascarfan4life24. You both think alike. Who knows maybe Anonymous and nascarfan4life24 may even be the same person. All i know is you both like to talk alot of trash!
We could call them the J Team!!
hahaha Christina, good luck insulting me with stuff like that. I’m
one of the worst self-deprecators you’ll ever meet. I know I know,
you had to go to dictionary.com to look that one up. It’s okay, there’s
classes and programs to help support people like you in this country.
“Anonymous” [[I'm assuming that means your ball-less]]-Have you not
noticed that he’s only been doing well since Jr said he was leaving?
That’s because Teresa is now trying to prove a point. Dumba__.
Christina, as to your second comment, he’s had bad engines from the
start. Can’t make a car go when the engine’s a piece of sh__.
Wonder if this was part of the reason Junior jumped into Busch’s car at that race a few weeks back. Not onlytohelp the team out, but, to get an idea of what Hendrick cars are like.
I can’t wait to get up tomarrow and hear the good news! I was jumping for joy when I heard of this today. My hubby is a Jeff fan, I’m a Jimmie fan, and my son is a Jr fan…. how much better can it get?? My very first reaction when I heard Jr was leaving DEI was let’s dump that shrub and get Jr with my boys! My husband was like there is no way, too many big names on HMS. HA!! Not so sure now are ya?!
That is going to be one heck of a dream team with Jr on board! Jr is a very talented driver, he will be welcomed to the team in this household!
Wow, besides being ‘large and in-charge’, you’re not that bright. He had a bad engine when he won those meaningless restrictor races? And to suggest Theresa is proving a point just proved my point.
Oh for chrissake already, let it go;; you’re proving your shallowness.
Who gives a rat’s a__ how I look or the fact that I’m fat? I’ve heard
it all before. You got a shot in, I got my retaliation, that’s how
priss fits work. Move the hell on. This site is for debating racing,
not stupid high school girl bulls__t.
Yes he did, because restrictor plates balance out everyone’s horsepower.
That was kind of my point. And how does that prove your point? After
Jr decides to leave, she actually starts spending money on their
engine program and caring what happens to the company. That means
s__t’s gonna pick up a bit. Before, she didn’t. I mean she went to Sony
to find the guy to head part of a race program. Yeah, real smart
choices she made back then. She’s trying to prove a point now and snub
Jr’s nose in it by actually doing her job and making sure her cars
are atleast semi-in contention so it doesn’t look like she’s as big
a f__k-up as she is.
Yup, it’s always a good idea to do poorly on purpose to attract sponsers, only the lifeblood of every race team. JR got the boot because he was greedy…….51% my ass!