So all that good will that RYR was garnering over offering the 38 to Junior?

Throw it out the window.

Seems maybe someone jumped the gun a little (or communication between Robert and Doug sucks donkey balls) when reporting that the 38 had been offered up. ESPN (via Jayski) has a quote from Doug Yates:

"Dale Jr., since he can't have what he wants, he might want the 38," said Yates, president Yates/Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing. "They're asking for the 38, and the 38 and 88 are our numbers. It's almost a little strange. It's like somebody asking if they can take your girlfriend or your wife out. We feel we're going to have the 38 and 88 [next year]."

Now, maybe it's just me, but this came out today. Bob Dillner reported the news about the 38 being offered up on Sunday. The internet and various news sources (all of them venerable and established) have been reporting this story all week long. Hendrick representatives commented on it earlier in the week. NASCAR officials said that they had not been contacted about a swap. There are three parties in this (despite what Doug says, it's RYR, Hendrick and NASCAR - not Junior - who would be the involved parties). Why would the party that has the most stake in it take all week to comment on a hot news item?

I'll admit, this one has me befuddled. Yes, sometimes the news just gets reported wrong. But another quote in the same article has Doug saying that the numbers are his dad's territory. And Doug chose Friday (or late Thursday, depending on when the reporter spoke to him) to say anything about the whole situation. And quite frankly, he's talking about it like he never watches the news and never had a clue what was going on. Let's face it. That's a bunch of ####. Or his PR department sucks at relaying important information.

Or Robert is keeping him out of the loop on really important business information.

Interestingly, Hendrick has, over the course of a couple of weeks (July 25th - Aug. 9th) applied for the trademark/patent for five numbers (#38, #51, #58, #81, #82). This isn't petitioning NASCAR - it's protecting their rights as an owner should someone try to patent a number and font and claim infringement because Junior used something similar, even though the person using said number had nothing to do with racing. (Given Junior's stature, a highly possible situation.)

The #38 was petitioned on Aug. 9th. That was before Dillner's report, so it's possible that Hendrick contacted Yates before the news went public and Dillner was misled as to who initiated contact with regards to the number. I'd even dare say probable, given Doug Yates' response to all the talk. But it still begs the question...why, when it's your number, wait so long to say anything?

(And on an only slightly related note, looking at that list of numbers, I have a certain fondness for the idea of the 58. It keeps the identity of the two car numbers together.)

So Bob Dillner is reporting that Robert Yates Racing has asked NASCAR to transfer the 38 number to Dale Jr. come next year, so that Junior can continue a family legacy. 

I admit, it makes me weepy and girly (dang hormones) when someone does something like that. As much as NASCAR is and always has been a business, there are certain things steeped in tradition. Family ties are big. Yes, most drivers end up with several numbers over their careers, but few are third generation drivers with so much history before them.

Do I think the number is that big of a deal? No. (Unless it's the 25, which is cursed and needs to go away so that someone, anyone, can have a decent run in that car.)

But the fact is, racing families do tend to use numbers over and over during their career. And it does have significant meaning. The 38 would be one of those wonderful compromises that keeps the legacy going while still being slightly individual to Junior.

Something else that makes the number that much more meaningful is that the 38 has family history of its own. I have a picture at home (which I need to double check for accuracy, but I'm 99.99% sure) of Junior, Kelley and Kerry when they were racing in a lower series. They're standing around their cars - the 3, 8 and 38. I think it was Kelley who had the 38. How fitting would it be for Junior to drive a number that had ties to his sister?

Any way it goes, whether Junior takes the number or not, it's nice to see the gesture by RYR. It proves that not everyone in NASCAR is so concerned about merchandising and the bottom dollar.

(This definitely falls into the category of things that it's nice to come back from a vacation and see.)