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DEI taking the look of a sinking ship
By admin | June 28, 2008
By Richard Allen
In 1912 the Titanic sank in the icy waters of the North Atlantic. While it is well known the ship did not have enough life boats for all passengers, there were still more people who went down than should have. Part of the problem was the crew could not convince passengers that the unsinkable ship was, in fact, sinking.
It looks as if those associated with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. are not having the same problem as those on the Titanic. Everyone still on board seems to realize they are on a sinking ship and they appear to be headed for the life boats.
DEI has struck its own iceberg of sorts.
Make no mistake about it, when racing enthusiasts look back a few years from now and wonder, “What happened to DEI?” the answer will be a simple one. The demise of the company began just over a year ago when Dale Earnhardt, Jr. left, or was allowed to leave or was forced to leave, whichever view best fits the truth.
Just one year later the company started by seven time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt, Sr. appears to be falling apart.
No doubt, when the company began racing in the then Winston Cup Series in 1996 it had the look of an unsinkable ship. That seemed even more true when, in 2000, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. began his full time Cup Series driving career.
A team owned by one of NASCAR’s greatest legends and driven by the driver who has become the most popular driver in the history of the sport would almost certainly make for an unstoppable force.
In fact, of course, DEI’s troubles can really be traced back to February of 2001. When Dale Earnhardt, Sr. died the company lost its founder and guiding force. It has just taken this long for everything to come completely unraveled.
Now, rumors are running rampant that drivers and sponsors are looking to jump ship.
Supposedly, Mark Martin, who joined DEI last year when Bobby Ginn sold his team, is headed for Hendrick Motorsports to take over for the departing Casey Mears in the #5 car. Along with Martin leaving the #8 Chevrolet, it has been said that the car’s sponsor, U.S. Army, is also looking to go elsewhere.
Martin is not the only DEI driver whose name has come up in the rumor mill. Martin Truex has also had speculation to arise concerning his future.
It had been announced earlier by DEI that the organization had picked up the option on Truex’s contract and he would be back with the company next season. However, Truex’s camp quickly came back and stated that DEI’s announcement had been premature, thus giving the appearance that the Mayetta, NJ driver was looking to at least listen to other offers.
Truex’s future, and thus DEI’s plan, appears to hinge on the movements of others. His name has come up as a possible fill in for Ryan Newman should that driver leave Penske Racing South. Also, Truex has been mentioned as a possible teammate of Tony Stewart should he actually form his own team. Still another possibility has Truex in the mix for the HMS open seat.
Besides Truex, DEI’s sponsor for the #1 car, Bass Pro Shops, may be looking to join forces with Stewart in some way. Stewart does have a relationship with the outdoor chain through the World of Outlaws team he owns.
And finally for DEI. The #01 car, currently driven by Regan Smith has struggled with performance and funding all season. The car is 30th in the owner point standings, placing it dangerously close to the back of the Top 35 in the standings, which is necessary to be guaranteed a starting spot in each race.
Several days ago rumor had it the #01 team would be shut down if sponsorship could not be found. DEI released a statement to rebuff that story.
It could be that the only constant for DEI in 2009 will be Paul Menard driving the #15 car sponsored by his family’s home improvement chain.
If the rumors are indeed true, the good ship DEI is taking on water and more people are looking for the quickest way off the boat rather than looking to help bail the water. There does not seem to be any trouble getting people to leave this sinking ship.
Richard Allen is a member of the National Motorsports Press Association. His weekly column appears in The Mountain Press every Wednesday.
Topics: Articles |
June 29th, 2008 at 1:32 am
Before anyone comes in and says “OMG!!! BUT JUNIOR SUCKS!!” think about the money Budweiser and Wrangler were pouring into that team, even if he was blowing up every week
so all you “haters” need to think before you bash this column which BTW i 100% agree with
June 29th, 2008 at 6:50 am
Very sad if all is true about DEI going belly-up,if is a very large word, but if Dale Sr. were still here this probably would’nt be happening. Still I wish them the best & hopefully Teresa will get someone that knows the racing side of things to take things over & save the ship.Maybe she should either turn to her own family & seek advice from uncle Tommy Houston, or try to lure Ty Norris back.
June 29th, 2008 at 8:05 am
Big League Nascar is just like a multi-million dollar stakes game of poker. If you don’t understand the game and how it’s played, you have no business in it. When Jr. pulled out, DEI was left holding a hand of jokers. Like Tony Stewart said,the place will eventually be nothing more than a museum.
June 29th, 2008 at 8:28 am
The world of NASCAR is still very much a male dominated sport. You won’t get anyone in NASCAR to admit it, but it’s a known fact. Being a male dominated sport, NASCAR would very much like to see DEI fall by the wayside as long as Teresa Earnhardt is running the company.
Junior’s leaving DEI certainly had an impact on the company. However, DEI can survive very well without the most popular driver in NASCAR. Everyone involved in NASCAR, and that includes the media, needs to give the same respect to Teresa Earnhardt that everyone else gets.
Mark Martin is a ‘has-been’. He’s a nice guy and a good driver, but he has always lacked what it takes to win a championship. Martin Truex Jr. so far, is a ‘never-has-been’. Truex has lots of undeveloped potential, but he is not yet suited to be the nucleus of a racing team. Paul Menard is ‘up-and-coming’, but a long ways from reaching his potential. Regan Smith is a younger version of another Mark Martin. All DEI needs to do is, pick up one solid driver that can guide the team until Menard, Smith, and maybe Truex, reach their potentials as drivers.
Sponsors come and go. With the countries economy in the state that it’s in, sponsors are going to do a lot more going than coming. NASCAR has made racing a sport of milionaires. NASCAR has regulated the sport to where it takes millions of dollars just to field one car.
DEI will be just fine as long as NASCAR and the media let Teresa run the company the best way she sees fit. NASCAR and the media need to stop all of the negativity aimed in the direction of DEI, and let the chips fall where they may. I sometimes think, that if it were for the negativity, the media wouldn’t have a damned thing to write about.
June 29th, 2008 at 8:33 am
If DEI does sink, it can be blamed directly on Earnhardt Jr.
In August of 2006, Mountain Dew began its persuit of Earnhardt Jr. to be one of its drivers. Now, we all know that MD is owned by Pepsico with whom HMS has a long standing contract. So, negotiations began.
Now, do you think it’s a coincidence that in early 2007 Earnhard Jr. demanded the ownership of 51% of DEI full well knowing that Theresa would not give up and percentage of the company that “She” and Dale Earnhardt formed.
If you read the article for which I will provide a link, and if you’re at all open minded (Not many Jr. fans are) you’ll see that Jr.s demand were nothing more than a ruse to make his departure appear to be Teresa Earnhardt fault.
BTW, here’s the link
http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/headlines/cup/02/20/dearnhardtjr.amp.sponsorship/index.html
After you read the article, and if you have a brain in your head, you’ll realize that what Dale Jr., and his sister Kelley, did to Teresa Earnhart was an evil and low down thing.
So, If DEI does sink, put the blame where it belongs. Squarely on the shoulders of Dale Earnhart Jr. and his sister Kelley.
June 29th, 2008 at 9:24 am
Just would like to say 75% Business 25% Race team is
apparently not working bring back the leaders or hire new
ones quick Ty Norris Hemil, Gilmore or how ever you spell it
someone cleaned house and though away the wrong stuff
June 29th, 2008 at 9:45 am
Well, I can’t believe this! People blaming the demiese of DEI on Jr.! You’ve got to be kidding. As stated before Jr. left that 49 percent of something is worth a lot more than 100 percent of nothing. I have also stated that in Nascar History, letting Jr. get away by DEI will go down in History as one of the biggest mistakes ever. It was very plain to see that DEI was way behind the other teams. How many engines did Jr. blow last year-six I think. And people want to know why Jr. left. I’m sure that Teresa want have to worry about buying groceries ever but she sure did blow this one. She has gotten a lot of credit for DEI’s success. I just hope she get’s the credit she deserves when they become a museum. Trying to retain Jr. was a “No Brainer”. So, let me get this right-You’ve got the most popular driver who definitely has some talent as his two busch championships and 17 cup wins proves. And, he’s driving for his father’s company he founded and you’re not going to keep him? Please don’t tell me about Teresa be a great business person because anybody who would make this mistake could in no way know anything about running a Nascar Team.
June 29th, 2008 at 9:55 am
Eddy
Junior doesnt run the company….so the hows and whys in whch you provided matter not. Because Theresa Earnhardt runs the company. She guides the ship. The failure lies squarely on her. And your arguement would go farther without name calling assuming because a reader may not agree with you on this they do not have a brain. And referring to being openminded and saying most Junior fans are not also gives you less credibility. So whether I agree or not doesnt matter because your belittling attitude ruins your whole point.
June 29th, 2008 at 10:00 am
Its a business and Kelley and Dale had a fantastic business plan. Great manuevering.
Teresa apparently isn’t the astute business savvy woman they like to make her out to be. She could have had Jr and Amp if she could have gotten beyond her own self serving interests.
Oh well, what will they say when Jr is a Champion?
June 29th, 2008 at 11:04 am
As my moniker implies, I’m not a Dale Earnhardt (Jr. or Sr.) fan (not that I hate them, either), but can anyone blame Dale Earnhardt Jr. for leaving DEI for Hendrick Motorsports?
Hendrick Motorsports has been one of the best teams in NASCAR since the 1985 season, if not even earlier. I remember Tim Richmond’s 1986 season, and that was really something, and Geoff Bodine had done fairly well before that, too. We’ve seen a number of Hendrick championships along the way from Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte, and Jimmie Johnson. Today, Hendrick, Gibbs, and Roush are THE teams to drive for, with RCR close behind and GEM potentially in a position to get to that RCR level.
Junior wants to compete for championships, and I think it was fairly obvious that was not going to happen on a regular basis if not racing for Hendrick. I say that because if you want to contend for championships and race a Chevy, you’d better drive for Hendrick (not to take anything away from RCR, I just don’t think they have a strong chance to beat out Gibbs, Hendrick, or Roush on a consistent basis).
Let’s not forget that Teresa publicly called Earnhardt out for caring about being celebrity more than a driver. Well, now Junior’s done something that shows he cares at least a little bit about racing for championships and he looks to be in a position to do that this season, although Kyle Busch is definitely on top this year. I don’t blame Teresa for what she said, either. That was a legitimate comment at the time, and maybe the best thing to serve as a boot in Junior’s behind for his own career.
To me, the mere fact DEI was in the weaker position in this feud tells me that they were the weakest link to begin with. If DEI were viewed as a place where drivers could go and get equipment competitive enough to race for championships, or even at RCR’s almost-there level, then filling Earnhardt’s spot with a top-end driver and sponsors shouldn’t have been so hard, right? Truex is putting up a good fight, Mark Martin does well in the 8, and I respect the improvements Menard and Smith have made, but DEI lacks consistent competitiveness. Here’s the question, how long was Junior’s celebrity propping up DEI and supporting mediocre performance?
The rumors now are about Army changing teams, not leaving the sport. If Army jumps to Red Bull, where Jay Frye’s at, would you blame them? Brian Vickers has a shot at winning a race this year, and the 84 car is getting it’s act together and should be in the top 35 real soon. Red Bull is viewed as a team on the rise, and it may be that Red Bell has the joy of making the decision, do we put an Army sponsorship with Allmendinger and/or start a third team and move Scott Speed up? (If I’m Red Bull and I get Army, I put Army with Allmendinger, assuming he makes the Top 35, which I think is a certainty, and form an 85 sponsored by Red Bell to run Scott Speed: make sure Army’s in the show.) The 83 stays as is, 84 becomes Army, 85 becomes the silver red bull car.
I mean, if Bass Pro Shops and Martin Truex jump to the possible Tony Stewart deal, will people chastise Truex and Bass Pro Shops for jumping to Tony Stewart and his celebrity and reputation, buying into a team that’s only currently on par with, say, Michael Waltrip Racing (those penalties really hurt)? Will people chastise UPS if or when they jump from MWR to another team? Does anyone really blame General Mills for leaving Petty Enterprises for RCR? Does anyone blame Budweiser for leaving DEI for Kasey Kahne and GEM?
Like DEI, my own favorite team faces the risk of becoming a museum, but I won’t blame General Mills. General Mills left because of years of mediocre performance by Petty Enterprises. Yeah, it’s hard to overachieve, but it’s what you have to do. It’s what DEI has to do with sponsorship woes and it’s what Petty Enterprises has to do, and what Yates Racing will have to continue to do. It’s what most everyone has to do: perform or risk extinction.
I’ve followed this sport for some time and I’ve seen teams that were once mighty, far mightier than DEI was, fall. I’ve seen other legends of the sport form teams, only for those teams to crumble (Allison, Yarborough, and Darrell Waltrip in the past 20 years…). I saw DiGard’s coufin nailed when Bobby Allison left and took Miller American with him, nearly 25 years ago. I saw Petty Enterprises close shop for a while not too long after The King left for Mike Curb’s team, taking STP with him! If you don’t think that was big news back then… Imagine Dale Earnhardt having left RCR and taking Goodwrench with him, or Jeff Gordon leaving Hendrick (kind of hard when he’s part owner) and taking DuPont with him.
This has happened before, it’s part of the sport. I hope DEI can survive as more than a museum, but they’ll have to earn it. Junior’s leaving didn’t kill DEI, more like his staying for so long allowed them to expect certain sponsorships longer than performance probably merited.
June 29th, 2008 at 11:13 am
I believe that Jr would not have pushed to buy 51% IF the company was being handled they way he thought it should be. Granted TE is money smart but their is no doubt in my mind that DE was the brains of the cars and how the performed. DE also had people in place who knew what they were doing. After his death that all started to change. Theresa hires a guy who knows more about tuning a piano than tuning a car. What a joke. The loyality to DEI died with DE. TE doesn’t have it. I NEVER thought Tony Sr would leave DEI. Boy was I surprised. That really told me that things weren’t good at DEI.
After Jr bailed (thank goodness) Theresa buys Ginn another failing team. Sure that gave her M Martin but so what he is something like 0 for 79 races. That was a big gain. I also heard DEI was moving into the Ginn building but I never followed that story. If that is the case what happened to the shop DE built? Why would she do that other than trying to make DEI more TEI. She also partnered up with Childress for motors. Were all these changes for the good?
June 29th, 2008 at 11:13 am
Colin & Eddie, Bravo at last someone sees through the Jr. cloud to see it fir what it is. How ever no one will get the Jr. fans to see past the Jr.fog bank,As far as Jr. & Kelly having a perfect business plan, how do you know that? Are you in contact with them? Jr. Motorsports wasn’t a power in the Busch series untill now when they teamed with Hendrick. I don’t know or profess to know them or about their business, but I think they ahs a lot of nerve demanding control of HER yes HER company, after apparantly Dale did leave it to her,& not them, I guess he had his reasons for doing so, no one will ever know now.I had an uncle that very well off, when he died he left everything to his wife, not the mother of his children by the way, no one knows why, but my cousins tried everyway they could to get control of his business’s, spent a bunch of money for nothing, the only one who gained anything was the attorney.As far as Teresa not being a good business, according to several reports Dale didn’t have a lot ’till she started handling his business,I don’t know I’m not privy to that info.It all comes down to one thing all the Jr.Nation/Teresa haters will blame anything bad on her. If Hendrick gets caught cheating, again, it’ll probably be her fault.Mark Martin,he needs to quit or quit quitting, soon he’ll be just like Darrell Waltrip & Terry LaBonte, but oh I forgot he has no championship so no champions provisional.
June 29th, 2008 at 11:46 am
As I said, not an open mind among you. And, I doubt if any of you took time to read the article.
June 29th, 2008 at 11:51 am
Who really cares, as long as Jeff Gordon gets his year turned around
I just said that because it will piss of Jr fans
June 29th, 2008 at 11:54 am
Consider this. For me, the most telling statement that Jr made through this whole thing was that his life changed and remained that way when Teresa was moved into the household. As one who had a parent displaced for someome “better”, (and there are many of us out here) it doesn’t always work well. Like Jr and Kelley, my brother and I were sent off (to private school and the Navy), they ended up at military school, my guess is there wasn’t much resistance when Kelley “offered” (or whatever) to go too (empty nest - party on). Watch Jr beam when he mentions his and Kelley’s mom, and I always glad to see them together in victory lane when that happens.
I’m not trashing Sr or Teresa here, I’m just pointing out a possible dymanic.
June 29th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
I am a Jr. fan and I am SICK of hearing people describe us as idiots following Jr. for no good reason. It’s our business who we like. Not all of us hate Gordon. He’s not my favorite, but he is obviously a championship driver. DEI is failing because of poor choices. Jr. had his reasons for moving on. Most importantly, he wanted to drive for a team with the resources to win. DEI was not and apparently is still not giving their drivers the equipment to compete for championships. Personally I hope Truex moves on as well.
June 29th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Well Laura some people put a price on liking others and some people just like people for who they are and the material ones have trouble understanding that
June 29th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
First off good article Rich.. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that it turned into a Jr bash. The reason that I’m commenting is I have a question for Eddy.
In what way was Dale Earnhardt Jr. obligated to save DEI? This argument between Dale Jr and Teresa didn’t just start. It’s been going on publicly since ‘04. He didn’t wake up one morning and think “I know how I’ll get her!”. She had no problem letting everyone know who was in charge! She was the boss and he was a driver! In the end it was a fractured buisness and personal relationship. They both did and said things that where less than kind! But Dale Jr had a career to think about and that is why he is in the Hendrick 88.. If he stayed he had the same fate as Kyle Petty staring him strait in the face..
The bottom line is Dale Sr. is gone.. He has no blood obligation to save save DEI. The only thing there that still is Dale Sr’s is the name on the door.. The rest belongs to Teresa.. If you don’t believe me just ask her, she will gladly tell you who runs this buisness!!
Once again good article Rich!!
June 29th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Time will tell who’s right and who’s not. Teresa is still in charge and if she’s as great as a lot of people say she is then DEI should have no problem in surviving and getting back to one of the elite teams in Nascar. A lot of people are saying that Teresa was the financial person in Dale’s Life and that Dale wouldn’t have been where he was without her but I think part of Dale’s success could have something to do with Maturity also. Age has changed me a lot over the years. So people think Teresa is so great? Letting Jr. leave and hiring an entertainment person to run a nascar team doesn’t seem like very good judgement to me. Evidently, I’m not the only one that sees DEI declining. This article along with several others I have read lately all point in that direction.
June 29th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Ok Larry has a good point the writing is on the wall Menards buys out DEI only Teresa keeps DEI headquarters for a museum and all the teams stay at Ginns old place
June 29th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Remember Paul Menards dad wanted to buy DEI before it really fell the man would turn things around
June 29th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
I dont agree with Butch about Junior….but on Mark Martin you are exactly right!!! He will not win a championship. It just wont happen. Soon he will be hangin on for too long…I dont want to see that.
June 30th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
As always some people toss JR under the bus and “never did nothing wrong”, Teresa, is an angel and JR the devil. When SR died so did JR’s family leash at DEI. It became Teresa’s business not the family business and since TE would not make it a family business JR and his sister made a wise business decision for his future, not TE’s. Any responsibility for the demise rests solely on the person running DEI, not JR but some will somehow distort anything to pass the blame. Make distortions, toss JR under the bus but JR did took the right path and it shows, some say he has not talent/ability but being 3rd in the standings above all the other more gifted (not the case) shows he can drive the car and win or put the car in the position to win. In the three cases where he has had bad finishes all can be attributed to mistakes by others and not his. Strange last year JR was supposed to be hard on motors (why they were blowing at DEI all the time) yet this year not one motor failure, again distortions to make JR the bad guy.
July 1st, 2008 at 4:29 pm
R.J. Being as there is an alliance with DEI & RCR do you think there might be any possibility that they just might have found the engine problem? I like JR. & I wish he could win, but it seems that everytime he’s able to put himself in a position to win some of the Earnhardt bad luck bites him. Like I said I like him I’m just not as mesmerized by him as the JR. NationMost of the J.R. fans are like the three bimbos in the Kasey Kane commercial.That should have been about JR.’ cuz that’s the way most JR. fans act.
July 1st, 2008 at 7:57 pm
Guess you missed the point there Butch!! The point was that some people were making such distortions as to blame JR for DEI’s terrible engine problem last year. The story was JR was hard on engines, totally evading the true issue, which was a bad engine program which joining with RCR corrected. JR can’t be blamed for the failure for DEI since it is not family business, JR was an employee and decided to leave, he honored his contract and when it was up he left, that was his option in life. TE made a huge mistake by buying Ginn when if she couldn’t run three teams correctly how could she run four. The story goes that one team will shut down, that Truex will bail and she has no wonder drivers in the pipeline and not a lot of top level drivers looking in the DEI direction. No since it wasn’t a family business only the owner/manager can be blamed for poor leadership and management and that isn’t JR.
July 2nd, 2008 at 11:27 am
R.J. My apologies guess I did miss the jest of the engine problems.But most JR. fans still are obnoxious,I’m a fan of his too but a rabid fan like some of the JR.Nation,like I said the bimbos in the Kasey Kane commercial should bedoing a JR. commercial instead,”cuz that’s how most act.Can’t help if he wer’nt Dales son & his name was Dale Brzymialkiewicz would he still be as popular??
July 2nd, 2008 at 8:05 pm
That’s supposed to read Cant help but wonder if the last name were different would he still be as popular??
July 3rd, 2008 at 6:17 am
Ok smart guy Butch just post a who to like rule book so we all know who and why to like someone I alway thought of liking one for who they are not for what they got