June 5, 2007
By Brian Watkins

Brian Watkins

I’ve tried my best to avoid the Dale Earnhardt Jr. column.

Not that I have anything against him. My wife is a fan and our friends are fans. Heck, every other pick-up and minivan I pass is a Junior fan. I try, and sometimes succeed, in writing about things others aren’t talking about, or on things that aren’t big news. I rarely write about a specific race, because I feel that the subject of the race itself gets covered thoroughly enough by others. Besides, I’m more of an opinion writer than an actual journalist or sports reporter.

So the much covered Junior defection has been something I’ve not felt inclined to comment on. But this weekend I had to jump on the “Where’s Junior Going?” band wagon.

All season long the DEI / Junior negotiations were headlines. His relationship with his step-mother, the lucrative sponsorship deal with Budweiser, the fate of the number 8, the possibility of the number 3 black Chevy turning laps again… it was all speculation and conjecture and “unnamed sources”.

Then the biggest NASACR story of the season broke- Dale Jr. is a free agent. Almost immediately there were stories regarding this team and that wooing of the most popular driver in NASCAR. In other sports, such as football, a trade or the acquisition of a free agent can happen rather quickly. One day you’re playing for the team in Miami, the next your freezing your buns off on a Wisconsin grid iron. But with NASCAR, things take more time and planning. It’s almost as complicated as moving an NFL franchise from one city to another. So a move to a team next season has to be initiated and worked on now.

What that means for Junior, the press and the fans is that we’ll be finding out rather soon who he’ll be driving for, and what he’ll be driving.

From the beginning, two things seemed pretty certain. Budweiser would be making the jump with Dale, and whereever the jump took them, they would land in a Chevy. As talks and rumors increased, it was reported that the Hendricks team didn’t have room for another driver and were not ready to release anyone. Scratch one Chevy team. Then it was reported that talks had taken place between Joe Gibbs Racing and the Junior camp. JGR however, does not allow alcohol sponsorships. With Bud being as synonymous with the red No. 8 as Dale Jr. is, it seemed as though a deal with the NFL coach turned NASCAR owner, turned NFL coach, was looking as likely as a Redskins Superbowl victory.

But now the word on the street is that a deal is in the works between JGR, Dale Jr. and two new sponsors, one an “unnamed” shoe company and the other Visa. If this is true, that would mean that Bud would no longer be affiliated with Dale Jr. To add another twist to the plot, JGR has been reportedly in talks with Toyota. If all these events came to pass, it, I think, could take Dale Jr. from the pinnacle of NASCAR fan worship, to a level of fan distain that would make even the boo’s and debris Jeff Gordon received seem mild.

When Toyota brought on Jarrett and Waltrip, they came as veteran racers with veteran sponsors. DJ brought UPS, and although his number was divided by 2, he still rode a slightly altered but very familiar UPS paint scheme. Not much changed in appearance (or performance for that matter). The same can be said about Waltrip. Same colors, same sponsors. They however, were labeled traitors by many old-school fans for leaving their “American made” rides and running “Foreign” cars.

While DJ and MW were fairly popular, they’ve got nothing on Dale Jr. But I doubt even his deep fan base, and the fan base of his late father, could not save him from the “villain” image he will garner should he suddenly be driving the yellow, white and blue VISA Camry next season. Leaving Chevrolet would be tough enough on him, even if he had retained Budweiser. But a new paint scheme, number, sponsors AND a ride in a Toyota to me seems like a popularity death wish.

Even the potential sponsors seem like they could be harmful. Not to cast a stereotypical light on NASCAR fans, but you can’t really get much more NASACR than Bud. You might prefer another beer, but Budweiser is as American as NASCAR, and beer is as popular in the stands and fields surrounding NASCAR events as pickups and grills. Visa on the other hand, is an odd choice. A majority of NASCAR fans are middle class folks who work hard for their money. While we may have credit cards, we don’t love them and we certainly don’t love the people who make their money off of our late fees. And while the potential shoe company sponsor is currently “unnamed”, I cannot fathom any shoe manufacturer that would have universal NASCAR appeal.

Last season there was a funny commercial in which Dale Jr. appeared on TV and announced he was changing his number. His legions of fans were shocked and panicked and began preparing to replace the millions of No. 8 window and bumper decals, along with key chains, mud flaps and myriad other Junior emblazoned items. The punch line of the ad was that he was just joking, and his fans in the commercial breathed a collective sigh of relief.

This time, the suspense is real, and it will be very interesting to see how much of a test is placed on the Dale Jr. fan club.

The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.