Junior is leaving DEI!

No, I'm not talking about Ken Griffey Jr.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced today that he will be leaving DEI at the end of the season. As you probably know, DEI stands for "Dale Earnhardt, Inc." which is the racing team founded by Jr's late father Dale Earnhardt.

I've always heard that Teresa Earnardt (Jr's stepmother and the widow of the late Dale Sr.), who currently runs DEI, is a very good businesswoman. Allowing Jr to leave DEI just doesn't seem like a very good business move to me. I know that Jr hasn't been winning too many races lately, but he is still the most popular driver in motorsports. You can't convince me that letting him leave DEI is a better business move then retaining him at the cost of giving up majority ownership in the racing team to him. I think this move spells financial doom for DEI. I'm sure DEI will lose Budweiser as a sponsor and they will probably also lose a huge part of their fan base as a result of this move.

The options now available to Jr are seemingly endless. He could start his own Nextel team out of his JRM garage which currently competes in the Busch Series. He could join Richard Childress Racing who has an opening and is the team his late father raced with. He could join Joe Gibbs' team which also has an opening for next year and currently employs Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin who are reportedly good friends of Jr's. There is also a slight possibility that Hendrick Motorsports might be interested in making a place for him alongside Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.

I think Dale Jr will probably join Richard Childress Racing. This move makes the most sense to me. Richard Childress has openly courted Dale Jr for many years. I'm sure RCR will make an offer to Junior that he can't refuse. Childress isn't stupid. He knows that they would both make a fortune together. The sponsors will offer truckloads of money to see Jr drive the black number 3 that his late father drove to fame. I'm sure the fans would trample each other trying to get off the DEI bandwagon and onto the Childress ship if Dale goes there. Of course, I would love to see Jr join the Hendrick Motor Sports team just to see how the idiot Earnhardt fans would handle Jr being teammates with Jeff Gordon. I don't think there is any chance that Dale Jr would join Hendrick, but I do think that Hendrick would give Junior the best chance to win races.

I'm not a big Nascar fan so it really doesn't matter that much to me. But, I do like Dale Jr and I hope everything works out for him. I think Teresa Earnhardt is headed for early retirement after this boneheaded move.