I have had the pre-race coverage of the Coca Cola 600 on the tube as I do some computer housekeeping. Darrell Waltrip was just asked his opinion on where Dale Jr. would decide to take his talent. D W surprised me.
Waltrip now seems to think that Earnhardt may end up in a satellite deal of either the Hendrick or Gibbs organizations. The thinking being that the mother ship would provide technology and hardware (read engines and cars) while J R Motorsports would supply the sponsorship. And Junior.
This possibility isn't what surprised me. Variations on this theme have been floating around the air waves and blogosphere since before Black Thursday. The shock was that D W didn't voice any warning that Earnhardt take almost any offer rather than try to win a Nextel Cup championship as the lead driver of his own team.
Darrell Waltrip knows. He was a superstar with terrific sponsorship and all the confidence in the world when he formed his own team. He failed.
Contemporaries Ricky Rudd and Bill Elliot tried. The auctions to liquidate their team assets were brutal. Rudd says he was lucky to net ten cents on the dollar. The temptation to go your own way is compelling. I know. But history is a teacher or should be.
It would be an understatement to say that Michael Waltrip Racing is struggling. One of the most common suggestions for that team is for Mikey to step out of the car and concentrate on running the team.
I don't know if this is the right choice for MWR, but it would never be an option for a team with Dale Earnhardt Jr. as a driver.
Maybe the new economics of NASCAR and the current rules that allow major teams to circumvent the 4 car maximum for a team by establishing satellite arrangements will improve the success rate of smaller teams.
The risk is too great for a driver at the beginning of his prime and peak of his popularity, to go this route.
I too fear that Junior is about to make a blunder.
He needs to go to RCR, not even Ginn could sustain his needs.
Posted by: vroom | May 28, 2007 at 06:04 AM
I heard that out of DW's mouth too and my jaw dropped.
Posted by: michael | May 28, 2007 at 07:08 AM