Sam's Town and Dale's Nation

Sam's Town

--------

Wednesday night I went to Sam's Town. By the time my visit was over I was definitely a Victim. Of who you may ask...? Well the Killers of course.


The boys were one of the best concerts I've ever seen and I would go back again even if I was by myself. Thanks to Joe, Douche bag, Mike, "Monique", three random homeless guys, possibly Nick Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings, the cute blonde from Chelli's Chilli Bar & Grill, and of course, the Killers for providing the ingredients for a great day in the city of Detroit. Honorable mentions for Arthur, the "Harp"ist, and the Bell's for aiding in the fun of the day :)

--------------------

Dale's Nation
----------

Thursday morning, the rumor I heard Wed. night was confirmed. At 11:00 AM, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. announced that he is leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc. at the end of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup season. After negotiating for months in an attempt to receive 51% ownership of the company along with extending his driving contract with them, Junior made the announcement that he is a free agent after this year. He made this decision so he could put himself in a position to start winning races and championships. So far DEI has not been able to provide him with the tools to get a championship on the mantle.

Only one thing is known about Junior's ride for next season: it'll definitely be sponsored by Budweiser. Other than that, it's open for speculation on the future of the sport's most popular driver.

Car Number: There is a good chance that he will not be the #8 because the car numbers are leased by the teams from NASCAR on a yearly basis, with the number's previous owner retaining first dibs on it's number(s) from the previous year. With Theresa Earnhardt being a bitch about giving Dale, Jr. his birthright, there is no reason to expect her to let him take the #8 with him wherever he goes.

Car Make/Model: Although Junior stated that he would prefer to continue driving Chevys, he refused to limit his options to only Chevy teams. That opens the door for him to drive for any championship level team, regardless of what car make that particular owner supports.

Race Team: While the possibility remains that Earnhardt could wind up in a Dodge (which is not horrible), a Ford (which is not desirable), or a Toyota (which is blasphemous), he will likely race for a top tier Chevy team. That would narrow it down to Joe Gibbs Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, and Richard Childress Racing.

Joe Gibbs Racing is a respectable organization that has won three Winston/Nextel Cups in the past 7 years. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. would compliment this organization nicely in that all three of it's current drivers are young, hard racers. Tony Stewart, who has won two of the three championships for the team, is good friends with Junior and seeming would fit together well as teammates. On the other side, Joe Gibbs is a Christian. As some Christians believe it is a sin to partake in the consumption, sale, or advertising of alcoholic beverages, I speculate on Joe Gibbs position on this issue and if would cause him to not let Dale drive a Bud Chevy for Gibbs racing. While unfortunate if this is the case, I would respect Gibbs for standing on his personal convictions.

Hendrick Motorsports is another high level Chevy team which houses not only the teams of current Nextel Cup Champ. Jimmie Johnson, but the 4x championship team of Jeff Gordon. The only positive from this fan's perspective to a Junior/Hendrick marriage is a good championship caliber organization pushing a championship drive for this championship-less driver. The downside for me is him being a teammate to the three drivers I wish the worst of racing luck to (Kyle Busch, Gordon, and Johnson). The main problem Junior would have getting a ride with Hendrick is that Hendrick already fields 4 cars each week on the track, the maximum number of cars NASCAR allows for any owner to field. It is unlikely that Hendrick would get rid of any of his drivers to make room for Junior.

Finally there is Richard Childress Racing. The Childress organization has been around since 1968 and has won a total of 6 NASCAR Cup Championships, all won by Dale Earnhardt, Sr. . The elder Earnhardt drove for Richard Childress Racing from 1984 until his death in 2001. Of course RCR is the fans emotional pick for Junior to race for. Nothing would be more fitting than to see an Earnhardt driving a #3 again. Childress has always had an open door for Junior and it seems like a marriage made in racing heaven.

There could be an announcement as soon as today but only Junior knows what lies ahead for sure.