DEI: Post Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced that he is leaving Dale Earnhardt Incorporated after the 2007 season. The often tumultuous contract negotiations between Earnhardt Jr. and his step mom Teresa have been turned into NASCAR’s most popular drama and have fallen apart. Earnhardt Jr. has been adament that he would return to the company founded by his father if he was given a controllling fiscal interest and total control over racing endeavors. Teresa Earnhardt is the owner of DEI after Dale Sr’s death and has been less than charmed by NASCAR’s most popular driver.
Junior’s reasons for leaving the team, founded by his father to enable Junior to pursue a NASCAR career, can only be speculated upon but likely include:
- To be competitive for a championship. His squad has fallen away from the leaders of the pack the last few seasons. One must speculate on Teresa’s dedication to winning as opposed to the Earnhardt golden goose.
- Teresa isn’t Junior’s mom. There has always been tension between the two and it stands to reason this didn’t help contract negotiations, specifically Junior’s desire for total control.
- DEI’s racing equipment has been under fire for less than stellar performance and for the most part the cars have been designed to exorcise the demons of restrictor plate racing for Dale Sr.
- He’s 32-years old and his window to win a title is starting to close and DEI is nowhere near providing him the opportuity to do so. He has the fame and cash but one can speculate that it might be a hollow existence without a championship. Think Alex Rodriguez jetting from Texas to New York to put himself in a position to win.
- Junior now has the opportunity to race the black number 3 Chevy for Richard Childress Racing, Dale Sr’s former employer. RCR would welcome Junior with open arms to continue the Earnhardt (3?) legacy and there is a possibility that the number 3 would be brought back for Junior. From an ethical standpoint he is the only driver that can claim the right to it and the amount of revenue it would generate could fund a third world nation.
To be the man you have to beat the man.
The Nature Boy Ric Flair was invited by University of Florida Gators head coach Billy Donovan for a pep talk before their victory over Butler in the NCAA Tournament. Flair is the 19-time world champion, 16 by the WWE, and according to my brother is likely the greatest wrestler of all time but is third in popularity behind Hulk Hogan and Stone Cold Steve Austin. I’ll take his word for it because he is a wrestling fan and I haven’t really watched it since all the Von Erichs were alive, including the modern Greek Tragedy Kerry. But on a related note we saw Flair and Arn Anderson get out of a cab in Oakland. We were waiting in line to go see an NWA show and that was our brush with greatness.
Flairs random appearance at a college basketball game brought up the issue between my brother and I on who are the greatest athletes from North Carolina. I maintained it was Michael Jordan, Dale Earnhardt Sr., Richard Petty and Ric Flair. His assertion was Jordan, Flair and Earnhardt. This simple debate, via text messages, brings up the issue of what an athlete is. By most accounts pro wrestlers are entertainers and NASCAR drivers turn left for four straight hours but this is short sighted.
Flair for the most always seemed to be out of shape when competing but managed to get 19 championship belts by a combination of guile and experience. He never seemed to dominate a match but usually cheated or outsmarted his opponent and got them in a figure four leglock and won by submission. I give pro wrestlers the credit of being athletes because they abuse the crap out of themselves and don’t have an off season to heal.
Earnhardt and Petty are the considered two of the best stock car has seen and their respective legacy’s still cast over the modern Nextel cirsuit. I give drivers credit for being athletes due to the fact that the interior of their cars are over 100 degrees and it takes a certain amount of concentration to drive 180 mph with another car 18 inches
in front of you.
Sports Illustrated produced a list of the top 50 athletes from North Carolina. Jordan was first, Petty was second and Earnhardt was sixth. Flair was not mentioned and was apparently beaten out Meadowlark Lemon of the Harlem Globetrotters(41st) and Wimpy Lassiter(31st). It’s bad enough when you’re not considered to be an athlete compared to a Harlem Globetrotter but to be shot down by a pool player named Wimpy, well that is true injustice.
Dale Earnhardt Inc. v. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
“The main factor is the ownership part,” Earnhardt Jr. said yesterday at NASCAR’s annual preseason media day at Daytona International Speedway. “It has nothing to do with money and nothing else really. … My father has been gone for five, six years now. I want majority ownership. That’s basically it.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is using the court of public opinion in his recent contract negotiations with Dale Earnhardt Inc. Dale Jr. and his stepmother, Teresa, have made no strides to lock up NASCAR’s biggest star after his contract expires at the end of the 2007 season. At this point the only connection the pair have is the partnership of Lil’ E’s Busch team, Chance 2 Motorsports and her signature on his paychecks. Junior has branched out from Teresa and DEI in his own racing venture JR Motorsports which is paid for by Junior and is supplied with engines from Dale Earnhardt’s former boss Richard Childress.
By various estimates DEI is valued as high as $100 million. Dale Sr. is 7th amongst on Forbes Magazine’s list of the top earning dead celebrities. In 2001 25% of NASCAR’s $1 billion collectible and apparel industry.
NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt willed most of his business interests and property, including race teams and the rights to the “Intimidator” trademark, to his wife. Some of Earnhardt’s estate will remain a secret because it was willed to a trust. - The Charlotte Observer reported Wednesday.
We at DavidPatrickCastro.com support Dale Jr. in his contract negotiations with the company that is only viable due to his talent on the track and the market place. The complicating factor of Junior’s contract negotiations and ultimately who has controlling interest in DEI is the simple fact that Dale Sr. fathered four children by three different wives. Junior is the bi product of his second wife. Teresa and Dale Sr. have one daughter. At this point five people have a valid claim, though they 
are all at varying degrees.
Teresa and her daughter can make a large claim because Teresa was a large part of the marketing of The Intimidator and it stands to reason that a good chunk of the empire was put into motion by her ideas. Maybe Dale built Garage Mahal because and for Teresa?
At the very least Junior can stake a claim to a vast majority of DEI. At this point he has won four straight NASCAR Most Popular Drivers Awards. His merchandise out sells all of his peers the DEI team itself is not as strong as it used to be and seems to be a proving ground for younger drivers Martin Truex and Paul Menard. Gone is Waltrip, who may have not been very talented but is quite popular. At this point if Junior jumps ship after the 2007 season and signs with RCR then DEI will be powered by memories.
Junior has maintained that he will race the black number 3 Monte Carlo later in his career and oddly enough he is the only driver that can make a legitimate claim to the Dale Earnhardt dynasty. Will he get controlling interest? Possibly but keep in mind that Michael Jordan did not receive a share of the Chicago Bulls after his retirement. Of course Jordan’s father didn’t start the Chicago Stags.
Tim Richmond
Tim Richmond was a dominant NASCAR driver whose career was tragically cut short by AIDS in 1989 and his death remains a black mark in the history of stock car racing.Richmond’s meteroic rise to fame, and all of the luxuries that are afforded to a champion, came together and ruined a promising racing career and showed that NASCAR is truley an Old Boys Network.
“When you watched Tim Richmond drive a race car, you could understand how Hank Aaron hit all those home runs,” said former teammate Benny Parsons, now a TV commentator. “Certain people have a certain knack for things. He had a knack for getting the race car around the track.”
Richmond came to racing prominence in an unconventional manner for American stock car racing. Raised in the oppulence of a wealthy family in Ohio Richmond was a late starter in the world of racing and came into the game at the age of 21. Starting off in open wheel racing he showed promise and garnered a ninth place run at the Indianapolic 500 in 1980. He switched to NASCAR and by 1982 he charged into victory lane twice in twenty six races.
With each subsequent season Richmond charged up the Winston Cup standing and culminated with a third place finish in the 1986 season. Unfortunately the pratfalls of fame that had destroyed many others that are thrust in the spotlight began to catch up with Richmond. Rumors of drug abuse and excessive late nights dogged the promising new star on the circuit.
“How much of it was him and how much was a supplement?” seven-time Winston Cup champion Richard Petty said. “I’ll always have that question in my mind.”
By virtue of being brought up in a separate culture than his NASCAR brethren Richmond brought in a rock star image. He was the handsome, well educated playboy driver on the circuit. In many aspect Dale Earnhardt Jr. has fulfilled the same void but by virtue of his name he has been accepted by the masses. While Richmond’s rise to glory was always viewed as an outsider intruding on a gruff Southern collective that doesn’t like those that haven’t paid their dues or were part of the monarchy.
“That was the biggest question mark about Tim Richmond,” Parsons said. “How in the world could he be so good? He was no normal, typical stock-car driver. He was a playboy. He belonged in Hollywood, in the movies.”
One could assume that 1986 was the start of Richmond’s rise to fame and NASCAR success and that the subsequent season would be even better. Unfortunately 1987 was the beginning of the end for Richmond and his time in racing. Towards the end of the 1986 season he had become quite ill and checked himself into the Cleveland Clinic. After a series of tests it was discovered that NASCAR’s newest star was infected with AIDS.
One must bare in mind that in the mid 1980’s AIDS was fairly unknown. It was generally maintained that this plague was limited to homosexuals and heavy drug user. At this point there is very little known about the disease and the social stigma transcends any scarlett letter that the media can spawn. During the 1986 off season did his best to regain strength for the 1987 campaign and to also hide his illness from the world.
Claiming that he was infected with a severe case of pneumonia Richmond raced only eight times in 1987 but won consecutive races. By the end of the season, with his health fading, he was sent to the garage by NASCAR.
In 1988 he tried one more come back but NASCAR intervened and laid down the law. At this point the general population was still unaware of Richmond’s illness. They bought in to his excuses but NASCAR knew the reality of the matter and refused to let Richmond rejoin the circuit. They subjected Richmond to a drug test, he was the only driver chosen, and maintained that he tested positive for banned substances. Richmond was banned indefinitely. Enraged, Richmond demanded another test and passed and ultimately NASCAR maintained that the only substances in his system were Sudafed and Advil. His ban was rescinded but they demanded full disclosure of his medical records if he wanted to race again. Rumors spread and many of his peers were now aware of his illness. Ruined and desperate to regain his credibility Richmond sued for defamation of character and NASCAR countered by requesting all of his tax records, medical records and drug screening results. Dejected and finally beaten Richmond dropped his case, fearful that any disclosures would become public record.
Richmond ultimately retired to seclusion with his mother in West Palm Beach, Florida and succumbed to AIDS on August 13, 1989.
Ultimately Richmond’s story became public and NASCAR fans were dismayed by the treatment of one their favorites. His career, though short, touched a lot of fans. He was the hard living, rock star of the circuit for a brief period and sixteen years later the sport sanctioning bodybarely recognizes of one their own. Despite his short career he was voted one of the fifty greatest drivers of all time but his biography on NASCAR.com that shares this proclamation is quite short (http://www.nascar.com/2002/kyn/history/drivers/02/02/trichmond/).
The manner that they treated one of their stars NASCAR has shown that many of the stereotypes (conservative, back water and intollerant)are true. Richmond died of AIDS when the country was just starting to understand this horrible plague. They handled the manner in the cruelest way possible. If they had embraced their own, as the NBA did with Magic Johnson, maybe America’s fastest growing sport could alleviate many of the perceptions that outsiders to the sport maintain but even seveteen years since his demise Richmond is viewed by the old boys network as the vermin that didn’t die fast enough.
“It was a bad time,” Petty said. “Let’s just forget the whole thing, no matter how good he was.”
