Post by munsonator08 on Jun 13, 2007 23:47:48 GMT -4
Earnhardt to join Hendrick Motorsports for '08 season
MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Sixteen years after they jokingly put pen to napkin, roughly four years after his own son predicted it would happen one day and Rick Hendrick scoffed at the idea, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has joined the team at Hendrick Motorsports.
Hendrick and Earnhardt made it official with an 11 a.m. ET announcement Wednesday at JR Motorsports, the facility owned by Earnhardt out of which he operates a Busch Series team and other budding racing ventures (watch video).
The outfit Earnhardt is joining at Hendrick is no budding racing venture, but rather the organization that clearly sits at the head of the Nextel Cup table, stock-car racing's most elite series. Earnhardt joins a stable of drivers that includes superstars Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, and up-and-coming talent Casey Mears.
As expected, the odd man out in the development will be current Hendrick driver Kyle Busch. Rick Hendrick said that he expects Busch to finish out this season as driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet, but that Busch will be released from his contract at the end of this season.
Busch's contract was to run through 2008, and Hendrick said that he and Busch mutually agreed that it would be best for Hendrick Motorsports and the young driver to part ways.
Meanwhile, Hendrick and Earnhardt could not contain their smiles Wednesday at the thought of what might lie ahead for them over the course of a five-year contract for Earnhardt. When he said five weeks earlier that he definitely was leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc., the racing operation founded by his late father, Earnhardt said he wanted to drive for the organization that would give him the best opportunities to win races and championships.
He said Wednesday that he firmly believes he has found that in Hendrick Motorsports.
"I had hoped to have a decision by mid-summer, but I had no idea how long this would take because I had never been in this position," Earnhardt said as he opened a packed news conference. "I wanted to take as much time as possible to find the right team, the team that was right for me as a person and one where I could compete for championships. As I sit here today, I can say with complete honesty that I found and accomplished that goal.
"We talked with many teams, but one stood out above the rest. It became apparent to me the man that I wanted to drive for. I've known him since childhood. He competes with integrity, and more importantly he wins races."
Then Earnhardt, dressed casually in a gray shirt that was open at the collar and not tucked in and wearing blue jeans, introduced the man that needs no introduction in NASCAR: Hendrick.
They quickly recounted the story of when Earnhardt was first introduced to Hendrick in Topeka, Kan., after competing in a series of dirt races in the Midwest with long-time Cup driver Ken Schrader. Earnhardt was only 16 at the time and still feeling his way as a teenager, let alone as a racecar driver.
MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Sixteen years after they jokingly put pen to napkin, roughly four years after his own son predicted it would happen one day and Rick Hendrick scoffed at the idea, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has joined the team at Hendrick Motorsports.
Hendrick and Earnhardt made it official with an 11 a.m. ET announcement Wednesday at JR Motorsports, the facility owned by Earnhardt out of which he operates a Busch Series team and other budding racing ventures (watch video).
The outfit Earnhardt is joining at Hendrick is no budding racing venture, but rather the organization that clearly sits at the head of the Nextel Cup table, stock-car racing's most elite series. Earnhardt joins a stable of drivers that includes superstars Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, and up-and-coming talent Casey Mears.
As expected, the odd man out in the development will be current Hendrick driver Kyle Busch. Rick Hendrick said that he expects Busch to finish out this season as driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet, but that Busch will be released from his contract at the end of this season.
Busch's contract was to run through 2008, and Hendrick said that he and Busch mutually agreed that it would be best for Hendrick Motorsports and the young driver to part ways.
Meanwhile, Hendrick and Earnhardt could not contain their smiles Wednesday at the thought of what might lie ahead for them over the course of a five-year contract for Earnhardt. When he said five weeks earlier that he definitely was leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc., the racing operation founded by his late father, Earnhardt said he wanted to drive for the organization that would give him the best opportunities to win races and championships.
He said Wednesday that he firmly believes he has found that in Hendrick Motorsports.
"I had hoped to have a decision by mid-summer, but I had no idea how long this would take because I had never been in this position," Earnhardt said as he opened a packed news conference. "I wanted to take as much time as possible to find the right team, the team that was right for me as a person and one where I could compete for championships. As I sit here today, I can say with complete honesty that I found and accomplished that goal.
"We talked with many teams, but one stood out above the rest. It became apparent to me the man that I wanted to drive for. I've known him since childhood. He competes with integrity, and more importantly he wins races."
Then Earnhardt, dressed casually in a gray shirt that was open at the collar and not tucked in and wearing blue jeans, introduced the man that needs no introduction in NASCAR: Hendrick.
They quickly recounted the story of when Earnhardt was first introduced to Hendrick in Topeka, Kan., after competing in a series of dirt races in the Midwest with long-time Cup driver Ken Schrader. Earnhardt was only 16 at the time and still feeling his way as a teenager, let alone as a racecar driver.
