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Identity crisis? Dale Jr.'s several sponsors
No matter who sponsors the car, what number or what color it is, the next important thing will be winning some races at the beginning and being a championship contender right off the bat. That's the key. Everybody will be watching the team's performance very closely.
Of the available numbers, the No. 88 makes perfect sense for Earnhardt Jr. It has a pretty rich history of winning race and championships with drivers like Darrell Waltrip and Dale Jarrett. I couldn't help but laugh when Buddy Baker said the good news is if you've got an 8 tattooed on your left butt cheek, just add one to your right butt cheek and you're ready to go.
Ordinal out of range
Monday on Sirius Satellite Radio, Baker said other than the No. 3 being linked to Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Jeff Gordon making his mark with the No. 24, a lot of people have driven a lot of different numbers. Too much has been made out of this number deal.
Sure, Earnhardt Jr. would love to have kept the No. 8. It's the only number he's ever driven in Cup. It's the number that his dad had at one time, and it's the number that his granddad had. So I do think Teresa Earnhardt was being very stubborn by not negotiating with Hendrick Motorsports and letting the number go with Earnhardt Jr. But a year from now, it'll be old news that he drove the No. 8, especially if he wins some races early next year.
Sponsorship too much for Bud?
Jon from Poughkeepsie, N.Y.: I don't get it. I thought the reason Budweiser couldn't go with Dale Earnhardt Jr. was they were still under contract with Dale Earnhardt Inc. But now they're on Kasey Kahne's car? I thought Bud was staying with DEI? If Bud was leaving, why couldn't they go with Jr. to Hendrick Motorsports?
| Speed Mail Larry McReynolds |
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Larry McReynolds: I'm not privy to the deal, but my gut feeling and speculation would be it was going to take much more money than they have been spending. And it probably would have been more than they would have spent to stay with DEI or go somewhere else like Gillett Evernham Motorsports.
Without knowing all of the ins and outs of Bud's contract with DEI, there's probably a good chance that even if they had another year on their contract with DEI, there were some contingency clauses based on Earnhardt Jr. being the driver. The sponsor probably would have stayed with DEI, but DEI may not have given Bud a selection of drivers that excited them. That's not to say Mark Martin wouldn't have excited them, but they can't run for a championship with a car shared by two drivers.
From a marketing standpoint, Kasey Kahne isn't Dale Earnhardt Jr. or Jeff Gordon, but he's pretty darn marketable. No matter what product you link with Kasey Kahne, it will be a huge marketing campaign.
FOX race analyst Larry McReynolds has more than 25 years of NASCAR experience as a mechanic, crew chief and broadcaster. He and his fellow Crew Chief Club members take you behind the wall at www.crewchiefclub.com.
"How to Become a Winning Crew Chief" is on bookstore shelves, or you may order your own autographed copy from www.DWStore.com.
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