Junior in '08

There's been a lot of crazy talk about Junior's move to Hendrick. The most asinine comment I heard was that this was somehow a "sell-out" by Junior. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I'm not a Junior fan. I root against him actually, just because he already has a huge following. But, even though I don't root for him, he seems like a great guy who has his priorities straight. The power struggle with DEI points out more than ever that his head is screwed on right.

Junior is the most popular driver by far. No one, not even Gordon, is close. He is the face of Nascar, let alone DEI. He has contended for championships at DEI. Lately, Teresa Earnhardt is running DEI like it is a glorified souvenir store. They are losing ground every week to fellow Chevy shops like Hendrick, Childress, and Gibbs.

Junior was obviously upset by that, and wanted DEI run like a championship race team. He also realized that DEI/Teresa was making huge money off of him, and he was not even getting championship equipment in return.

DEI survived Dale Sr.'s death only due to the emergence of Junior. What has Teresa done for DEI? Nothing. Junior had enough, and wanted controling interest of DEI this time. Makes sense, since he is 99% of DEI.

For some bizarre reason, Teresa said no. As if she is more important to DEI than Junior. It's crazy greed, arrogance, foolishness, or all three. If Junior re-signed with DEI, he'd be nothing more than a guy generating souvenir sales, and driving around in a top 10 car at best. Meanwhile, Teresa lines her pockets from wherever she is on race day. The beach maybe? Who owes who? Does Junior owe Teresa anything at this point? Or does she owe him for keeping DEI afloat as she remains an "absentee owner"?

Junior going to Hendrick was never about selling out, or money. The money would have been the same at DEI. Junior made it clear that he has had enough of being a cash cow for Teresa, who cares nothing about winning. Junior wants to win, period. If DEI/Teresa refuses to give him that chance, then he's going somewhere else.

It was a tough, smart decision, that I have great admiration for.

So, I hope DEI (including Junior) does terrible in 2007, and when Junior drives for Hendrick in 2008, I'll be rooting for him to win the championship. The best scenario would be for DEI to take such a nose dive that Teresa sells it off, takes her ill-gotten cash, and goes off to tan somewhere.