"We worked really hard, but we were never close," Earnhardt said. "I am a little sad, but I am trying to remind myself to be excited about what's ahead."
As An Era Ends Today,
A New Era Begins
Well all that is left to decide now is whom Dale Jr. will race for next year.
The end of era for the Earnhardt family came to a close today. Dale Earnhardt Jr. let it be known today that he was going to be leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc. at the end of the season. This is the company in which Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been employed since the day he stepped into NASCAR racing. Whether it was Busch or Cup.
Dale Earnhardt Sr. started DEI so that he could leave his children a legacy that they some day would run. He brought his son Dale Jr. into the company to be its featured driver. He put Michael Waltrip in a second car, as a teammate to his son. Dale Sr. had a vision for his company that many knew about. But due to a tragedy in 2001 that took Dale Sr.'s life Dale Sr. never got to see that vision to full fillment.
Things were going along very well for DEI for several years after Sr. died. But somewhere around 2004 things seemed to change. It almost seemed that DEI was falling behind in the technology department.
As teams like Hendricks, Gibbs, Roush and Childress all made strides, DEI just seemed to have leveled off. The cars were not as competitive as they had been in the past. This was very evident on the restrictor plate tracks. This was the one track in which DEI dominated in 2001-2003. But in 2004, DEI was no longer the dominate car to beat at the restrictor plate tracks. That now fell on teams like Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.
So when it came time for contract talks between Dale Jr. and DEI, there were major issues that needed to be addressed. And evidently the two parties could not come to agreement on how to best fix those issues.
Dale Jr. wanted ownership of DEI. Because he felt that he could take DEI to the next level of competition.
Teresa Earnhardt evidently felt that she is the best person to take DEI to the next level.
Now time will tell if DEI will ever become one of the top tier teams again. My gut feeling is that unless DEI makes some major changes, they will never be a top tier team. Regardless of who they might hire as a driver.
Dale Jr. knows from his talks with other owners and drivers that there are things that DEI is lacking. And that is what he wanted to put into place for DEI. But because of the failed contract talks with DEI, Jr.'s vision for DEI will have to wait. I just hope that there is a company in place that Jr. and Kelly will be able to oversee in the future.
Because there is coming a day in which Teresa will step away from DEI. And that day may be sooner than later. But for now Teresa is still the head of DEI. Let's just hope that she does make the hard decisions that needs to be made to make DEI the best it can be.
As to where Dale Jr. will end up. Well, my gut feeling is either it will be Gibbs or Childress. With Childress being the most likely. The only way I can see him going to Hendricks is if either Kyle Busch or Casey Mears are on their way out. And since Kyle is performing as well as his teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, I can't see him leaving.
But the performance for Casey has not been what they had wanted. And since Casey is only into his first year with Hendricks, it probably would be a stretch for him to leave just yet.
Now Childress and Gibbs each have room for expansion to a fourth car. There is even speculation that J.J. Yeley might be out of the 18 car by the end of the season if things do not pick up. So there is more room for Dale Jr. at Gibbs. But the one problem with that is that Gibbs already has a big name star in Tony Stewart and a rising star in Denny Hamlin. Would Jr. really fit into Gibbs? Maybe, but not likely.
Dale Jr. seems more like the type of driver that Richard Childress likes to hire. He is quiet. Doesn't really call attention to himself personally. Like Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer. And on occasion Kevin Harvick.
So where will he wind up? It is anyone's guess, but if I were a gambling person, I would put money on Childress Racing.
I will try and do justice to the rest of the 2006 season. As the first review has shown the first six months of Cup racing was very active. Some of the activities were on the track, some where not.
But I am not sure that anything set off a firestorm like the one that Tony Stewart set off at Pocono in July when he took out Clint Bowyer and innocent bystander Carl Edwards. (Well except the wreck Tony caused with Matt Kenseth at Daytona in February.)
Everyone had their feelings about this one. And I am still not sure that anything was every completely settled between these three men. If these three find themselves in a similar situation in 2007, wonder if anyone will give a little more or if it will be all taking.
SMOKE MISSES THE CHASE THEN GOES ON A TEAR
The unbelievable happened at the fall race in Richmond. Tony Stewart missed the chase by a mear 16 points. Just when the media was starting to say that Tony was going to run and hide, he decides to show why he is the Champion that he is.
Smoke went on to win 3 of the 10 Chase races. Two at tracks in which he has never won at. Smoke might not have been in the chase, but Smoke sure stole the limelight from the Chasers.
2007 should be a fantastic year for Tony Stewart. Don't be surprised if he doesn't walk away with a 3rd championship this year.
DENNY VS. POCONO Denny Hamlin had never seen Pocono (except on a video game) when he first set foot there in June. But to watch this young man on this track, one had to be impressed with his skills as well as his car control and his team's desire to win. This desire was proven by the way they fixed his car after he went spinning through the grass.
It seems that J.D. Gibbs has put together a championship team. Just as his father, Joe, did with both former driver Bobby Labonte and Tony Stewart's teams. I see only good things for this young man and his FedEx Team in 2007.
CARL EDWARDS, BAD BOY IN TRAINING? Carl Edwards in 2006 did not have a banner year. He went through the sophmore slump big time. But when you go after the fan favorite, you become NASCAR's Bad Boy in Training.
Just to refresh your memory, Dale Jr. spun Carl Edwards out in the Busch race at Michigan to take the lead. And Edwards retaliated by running into Earnhardt on the ensuing caution lap, which could have been very costly to Jr. For Jr. had his left hand outside of his window netting trying to get some air. When Edwards hit him. Fortunately, Jr.'s window was higher than Carl's front end.
Then Edwards shows how unsportsmanlike he is. He goes into Victory Lane where Jr. is celebrating and confronts Jr. Even Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt never went into victory lane to confront a driver after a race. That is just not done Carl.
So Carl becomes NASCAR's newest Bad Boy in 2006.
MAYFIELD VS. EVERNHAM Not going to take up too much time with this one. This one has been rehashed enough for one year. But the most interesting thing that came out of this to me was that these two were suppose to be really good friends. But yet, they allowed a friendship to be destroyed over what, a young girl? One felt his friend was not paying enough attention to his Cup teams, while the other one felt he was paying enough attention to everything.
But somewhere, along the way, these two forgot one important lesson, Never let a girlfriend get in the way of a friendship. Girlfriends come and go, but friends are forever.
JEFF BURTON ENDS WINLESS STREAK When the last race of September rolled around, Jeff Burton was quietly putting himself in position to end a streak, that had been around since 2001. A winless streak.
Burton finally found himself back in Victory Lane. It was a win that was much welcomed not only by Burton, but by the Cingular team and Richard Childress as well.
CHILDRESS RACING HITS ITS STRIDE Richard Childress Racing was having a banner year in Cup and Busch racing. All three of his drivers were performing very well in both series. Harvick and Burton got wins in the Cup series and all three drivers got wins in the Busch series.
Childress Racing is proving that they have finally pulled themselves up from the disaster that befell them in 2001. They have finally come full circle. They are winning again and they are setting the world on fire. 2007 should be another banner year for Richard Childress Racing.
MARK MARTIN LEAVES ROUSH RACING
This is probably the most shocking news of the 2006 season. Who would have ever thought that Mark Martin would not end his career with Roush Racing.
But Mark shocked the whole racing world with the news that he would return in 2007 to run a limited Cup schedule with MB2 Racing. He will also be running a limited truck schedule for the Woods Brothers.
Mark might be slowing down, but he is still not quiet finished with Cup racing just yet.
FAREWELL TO TEXAS TERRY Terry Labonte raced his last Cup race in Texas on November 5, 2006. The Iceman finally decided to step away from Cup racing for good. Terry will be greatly missed in Cup racing, not only by his fans, but the by the 42 other drivers he raced against.
Terry Labonte was a hard racer, but he was a clean racer. People knew that Terry would not take any #### off anyone, but he also didn't give it. But if you had the nerve to cause him to have a bad day, you had better be sure to come and make amends before the next race. Because the Iceman took names and he didn't mind putting the bumper to anyone he needed to. He wouldn't wreck you, but he would let y ou know he was there and he had your number. Even the legendary Dale Earnhardt knew this.
THE 48 TEAM FINALLY BECOMES CHAMPIONS Well I started this review of the 2006 season with the 48 team and now I am going to end it with the 48 team.
With all the controversy that surrounded this team at the beginning of the year, I would have never thought that they would be champions at the end of the year. But here we are.
They gathered up the pieces of their team in Daytona. Went on to win the Daytona 500, the All-Star Race and The Allstate 400, along with wins at Talladega, Las Vegas and Martinsville.
So the 48 team was the best of the best in 2006. Congratulations for the final time to the 48 team for their championship.
So who will be the best of the best in 2007, well, come February 18, 2007 we will begin to solve that mystery. But unfortunately it will take 36 weeks before we find the answer to that mystery.
So until then rest, your minds. Rest your remote controls. Because Daytona will be here before you can say..."Gentlemen, Start Your Engines".
Sunday marked the end of a career for a man who has been very well respected in NASCAR circles for more than two decades. Terry Labonte got behind the wheel of a racecar for the last time at Texas.
Labonte is a two time NASCAR Cup Champion. Labonte has 22 wins. The last one coming at the last Southern 500 in 2003 at Darlington International Speedway.
Terry Labonte is well known for his cool disposition. It seems that the nickname "Iceman" fit him very well. Even when he was angry, he always had a cool attitude. He is a true professional through and through.
Labonte will always be remembered for his love of his family. They were always first in his life. No matter where he was, you can rest assure that Labonte's family were not far from his mind.
Terry from all the NASCAR fans all across this country Thank You For Being You. Thanks for all the cool memories. Thanks for all the wins. Thanks for letting us share in your life.
Iceman you will be missed.
----------------------------------------------p>
Smoke Shoots 'em up at Texas
There is no doubt that Tony Stewart is having alot of fun during the Chase this year. Even though he is not in it, he is the hottest driver on the track this Chase.
Photo by AP/Tony Gutierrez
Smoke has proven once again why he is a true Champion. He won for the 5th time this season. Following a win last week at Atlanta. Smoke certainly is the hottest driver on the circuit right now.
Makes one wonder what Tony and the Home Depot team would have done the past two years during the chase, if they had not paid so much attention to points racing.
The last season surge that the Champ is having just goes to prove that if he is not worrying about points, Stewart is a threat to win every week.
So my advice to the Champ and his team for 2007, don't worry about the points. Go out and win those races and just have fun. And a third championship will be yours at the end of the year.
------------------------------------------------
Jimmy Johnson once again
on top of points
Just about three/four races ago, people were already writing Jimmie Johnson off as a contender for the championship. They were handing the championship to Jeff Burton.
But not so fast. The Lowe's team and the DeWalt team seem to have something to say about that.
Since Martinsville, Jimmie Johnson has had a steady climb upwards, while Jeff Burton has had a steady freefall.
Now with just two races left and realistically only 5 Chasers left who could walk away with the cup. Jimmie Johnson sits atop the points standings once again.
Could this possibly be the year in which Johnson breaks through and becomes a Cup champion? Making him the latest Hendrick drive to bring the cup back to Hendricks?
Well in two weeks we will know for certain.
Photo by Chris Graythan/Getty Images
Jimmy: Hey, Tony do you have any advice for me on how to win the Cup?
Finally, Jeff Burton will not have to answer the question "When will you break back into victory lane?" For today at Dover, DE he won his first race since Phoenix in 2001, a 175 winless streak.
All season Burton and his teammates have been showing that RCR is back. Harvick has won four times this year giving RCR its only wins of the season. Now Burton can add his name to that list.
Burton raced Matt Kenseth hard to get the lead, but clean. Burton never touched the car of Kenseth. But he certainly did work his former teammate over the old fashion way. He earned it.
But the goodness for Burton did not end there. Not only did he win the race, but he also took the points lead for the first time since 1999.
Burton currently sits 6 points ahead of Jeff Gordon and 18 points ahead of Matt Kenseth and rookie Denny Hamlin.
So as the points race for the championship tightens the Cup drivers head out to Kansas City for the third race in the Chase for the Championship.
BAD DAY
Many chasers had a really rough day. Kasey Kahne was caught up in Tony Stewart's spin on lap 11. This has pretty much ended Kahne's chance at the Championship. Kahne currently sits 182 points out of first with 8 races to go.
Kevin Harvick who came into the race as the points leader now sits 4th 54 points out of first. Harvick suffered an engine failure.
Jimmie Johnson also had a bad day. He had a pit road tire issue that dropped him to the back of the field. Though he did manage to finish 13th 1 lap down. Johnson is currently 8th in the points 136 points behind Burton.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a tire issue, but fortunately he caught it early enough that he did not wreck. But unfortunately for him and his team the caution came out before all the field could make green flag pit stops and this caused him a lap. In which he was never to regain. He finished 21st 3 laps down. Earnhardt is currently 7th 102 points behind Burton.
Kyle Busch probably suffered the worse. He is currently 10th in points 224 points out of first. It seems his chance at a Championship is certainly over. Kyle also suffered engine failure. He finished 40th at the Monster Mile.
QUIETLY RACING
There were two chase drivers who were really quite today: Denny Hamlin and Mark Martin. Denny finished 9th in the race and is currently tied for third place 18 points behind Jeff Burton.
Mark Martin finished 14th 1 lap down and is currently 6th in the points 75 behind Burton.
SMOKE SPINS
Unfortunately for the 2 time Champ he and his team just cannot get off of this roller coaster called the 2006 season. Once again the champ and his team are forced to finish that is not befitting the champ. Stewart spun in turn 4 on lap 11 and hitting the wall.
Smoke and the team went to the garage and fixed the car and they finished 33rd. Coming into this weekend Smoke and the team had high hopes of finally getting their season back on track. But like the rest of their season, it was not meant to be.
So now it is on to Kansas City. Hopefully the 20 team will be able to find some little magic and pull off a win there.
CHASE SPOILERS
Going into the Chase many people thought that Tony Stewart might actually be a spoiler. But that has not been the case.
The only spoilers of the Chase so far has come from one organization: Richard Childress Racing. Until this year, Childress has not has a chase contender. This year they have two: Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton and they both have each won one Chase race each.
So who will be the spoilers? My guess is right now it will be someone from the Childress organization, not Tony Stewart.
Everyone in the media for weeks leading up to this race build it up to be one of the exciting races of the year. And in years past it use to be. But since the conception of the Chase back in 2004 this race is become a lack luster race.
The hype that is built up around it, is like the hype built up around a Super Bowl. But the only problem is that like many Super Bowls, it fails to live up to the hype.
Last night's Bristol race was no exception. Usually one of the more exciting, if not the most exciting, race of the year was a real snooze feast.
It was so boring that by lap 120, I had given up the race for old reruns of "Green Acres". Now I am not one who usually gives up on a race. I usually no matter how boring will stay and watch. But for some reason last night, the race just could not keep my attention. And this was Bristol.
The media kept hyping about how scores would be settled. Carl vs. Tony. Carl vs. Dale Jr. and Matt vs. Jeff. But as usual nothing happened between these drivers.
These drivers are (with the exception of Carl) trying to make the chase. And anyone who thought that this was going to be a slugfest between these drivers I am sure they were totalled disappointed.
But I knew that these guys were not going to get into it. But I did not except NO ONE to get into a slugfest. Especially after Ryan Newman took out two guys on Saturday night during the Busch race. I thought for sure that maybe Reed Sorenson would be after Mr. Newman, but as usual Sorenson was on his best behavior.
The biggest disappointment during the race last night had to be the 20 Team and Tony Stewart. They started in a great starting position. But they never got things together and Stewart finished a disappointing 22nd 2 laps down. The 20 team came into this race 5th in points they left 8th in points, 97 points ahead of 10th place Mark Martin.
Mark Martin was another chase contender who had a bad evening at Bristol. On the first pitstop Mark pitted outside of his box and was penalized 1 lap. And like many at Bristol, once you get a lap down it is hard to make it up. Granted it can be done, but when you don't have alot of cautions, it is very hard to get laps back.
Jeff Burton and Matt Kenseth were the class of the field last night.
So now there are 2 races left befor the Chase begins California and Richmond. If the guys sitting in 4th thru 10th plan to make the Chase they cannot have anymore bad races like Stewart and Martin had last night in Bristol. Or Kasey Kahne will be ready to pounce. Because Kasey has been the class of the field at the 1 1/2 mile tracks and he is usually good at Richmond. So if anyone slips and Kasey has a good night, Kasey will be in and somone will be on the outside looking in.
