by Darrell Waltrip

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Programs of the week Sunday, 3/22 on FOX 1:30 pm: Food City 500 This week on SPEED Friday, 3/20 Noon: Cup practice 1:30 pm: N'wide practice 3:00 pm: NASCAR LIVE 3:30 pm: Cup qualifying 4:30 pm: N'wide practice 7:00 pm: Trackside Saturday, 3/21 11:00 am: Cup practice 12:20 pm: Cup practice Sunday, 3/22 11:00 am: NASCAR in a hurry 11:30 am: NASCAR Raceday 8:00 pm: Victory Lane All times ET Race Trax: Updates, live results NASCAR on SPEED schedule

Dave Despain: OK, Darrell, you're reaction to that. Kyle got kicked to the curb.

Darrell Waltrip: In this sport, people that know Rick know that he's a very patient man, and he likes projects. I think Kyle may have been a project. It may have been a little bit too big a project for Rick. You've got an 'A' student over here in Dale Jr., and you've got a kid over here that stays in "timeout" all the time. Rick worked hard with Kyle, and if he tells you the truth, I know that to be a fact. He sat him down time and time again and had a father-son talk with him. But, apparently, it just wasn't getting through. If you go back and look at the all-star race, and you look at Rick Hendrick talking to (No. 5 crew chief Alan) Gustafson on our show when Kyle wrecked Kurt, I could see it right then and there that Rick said, "I've had enough of this." An opportunity came along to do something about it, and he took it.

Dave Despain: I think if Kyle's smart, he'll take this slap upside the ego and learn from it, make it a step in his process of growing up. Keep the hard-charging style, Kyle. Just lose some of that attitude. You'll be a lot more valuable in the long run.

Blair in Cranford, N.J.: Two parts: Do you think that Dale Sr. would have a problem with this, and do you think that Teresa (Earnhardt) will give a hard time with Rick Hendrick, giving up the No. 8? Maybe a swap for the No. 5?

Darrell Waltrip: I know what Sr. would say, "Show me the money." Sr. wasn't out on the open market because he and Childress had that special relationship. But I guarantee you — and Rick knows this from the napkin contract — there was a bunch of folks back when Dale Jr. started racing that tried to get Dale Jr. to come and drive for them because they knew Dale Sr. wasn't going to pay near what somebody else might be willing to pay him. I think there was a little bit of a rub with his DEI contract. I don't think Jr. ever got the respect he wanted; I don't think he ever got the kind of pay he deserved. When Rick Hendrick and Jr. sat down, I'm sure if Sr. was over here in a corner, he was saying, "Make him pay you, boy. Make him pay you." And I'm sure that that was probably a consideration.

Dave Despain: The second part of the question was do you think Teresa will give them the 8. Do you think that will be his number next year?

Darrell Waltrip: I think that's not very likely. I probably wouldn't. If I was her, I probably wouldn't. If you made it lucrative enough for me, and he made it maybe something that we could talk about, and there was something in it for me, maybe. But I really think he's probably going to be stuck with 08 if he wants to keep 8, and that's not bad. I don't see a problem with that.

Dave Despain: (There's) a great picture on the Internet. Somebody has already designed the paint job for the car. How quickly these things happen (with) the magic of the computer. There is your No. 5 Dale Jr. Budweiser car, all laid out for next year. Photoshop indeed.

Darrell Waltrip: That can't be true because I don't think it's going to be Budweiser.

Dave Despain: That was one of my questions. You don't think it will be Budweiser. Do you know who it will be? We've heard a shoe deal. We've heard a credit card deal from one of your buddies. What's it going to be?

Darrell Waltrip: Yeah, wrong. It'll probably still be something you could drink. That would my guess.

Dave Despain: "Something you could drink," he said, hinting.

Darrell Waltrip: And it won't be in a red can.

Dave Despain: He's narrowing it down.

Aletha from Louisville, Ky.: My point is I got to watch the 11 a.m. press conference (last Wednesday), and what I saw in the press conference was moving. And I'm a Junior Nation fan, not so much Earnhardt Sr. I like the point that (Waltrip) made about that. My point was when he said that Rick Hendrick cared about him being happy, and anybody that's an Earnhardt Jr. fan, you would want to see him happy. I'm glad to see him relieved. I'm glad to see him smile. Even after the Michigan race, he was very content, something I haven't seen. That's, to me, more wonderful than anything else. I love him at DEI, but him being happy means a lot. The relationship, I feel, he'll have with Rick Hendrick will be one of healing like has been demonstrated, and he needs it. I think both parties do, and the bottom line is (Hendrick) cares about (Dale Jr.), and Rick Hendrick didn't care who (Dale Jr.) drove for. And that's the bottom line for me.

Dave Despain: Thanks Aletha. Darrell, I've got 10 seconds left after that. How do you think the fan thing is going to shake out over the long haul? Are they going to accept this or not?

Darrell Waltrip: For the rest of this year, it'll be ebbs and flow, ebb and tide. People will be on it; they'll be off it. When they'll really love it is when Junior gets in one of those Hendrick cars at Daytona and checks out on the field. They'll say, "Man, he made a great decision."

Dave Despain: You won't narrow this down for me, will you? A drink not in a red can.

Darrell Waltrip: Aww, no, but you can think about it. Maybe I'll get back with you next week.

Dave Despain: Why not Budweiser? Why won't that happen?

Darrell Waltrip: There's a year left on their contract with DEI. I think I'm correct about that so maybe there's a possibility they could move if they wanted to. I don't know all of the ins and outs of that contract, but I just don't feel like that's going to happen. I feel like he wants to start with his own deal, clean sheet of paper. That was yesterday; we're moving on to tomorrow.

Dave Despain: And with that, we'll move on. He's been right about this from the get-go, ladies and gentlemen. You might want to take this to the bank.