dale Earnhardt

[marcus]

just interested to know why Dale doesnt drive his own car..i mean i guess hes getting good money to drive the one he is but he runs steve parks car doesnt he ??? why isnt he driving it and do you think he will in the future ?
also whats going on with Darrell waltrip..he seems to take a provisional every race i watch and then cruises around at the back of the pack (still 100mph faster than what i would but!!) whats that all about ..is it just for promaotion or something ??? should he retire and concentrate on commentating or should he just change his driving stlye and drive alot harder ??

[Joe Fan]

Dale Earnhardt doesn't drive his own car because Richard Childress keeps extending his contract and there is alot of history with Earnhardt in the black #3 car. Take the number 3 and GM Goodwrench away from Earnhardt and there would be an instant drop in his collectible merchandise which is higher than his driver salary. Plus Childress supplies engines for Dale's #1 and #8 cars. It is a great marriage for everyone.

As far as Darrell Waltrip, this is his last year of racing. He announced this last year and it has been called his "Victory Tour". So far he has struggled but I feel it is mostly due to the quality of ride he has as well as the team behind him. I doubt though unless all the planets were aligned that he would be able to win. However, I do feel that at the right track he could surprise if he had a great car and team. But it doesn't look like it is going to happen. Honestly, DW should have retired a couple of years ago but he can't seem to get it out of his blood.

[This message has been edited by Joe Fan (edited 31 May 2000).]

[Heeltoe6]

I really gota feel for DW. It seems like ti detriorated so fast. 97 wasn't that bad, despite missing the fall CMS race, but he did quite well at Sears Pt and the Brickyard. 98 was god with the 1 team and ven with the 35, he was getting top 15, top 20 runs. It still looked like given good equipment, he could win under the right circumstances. But last year was horrible, and I gotta say it ain't the car. Spencer got in DW's car, which failed to qualify at Atlanta, and set a time that was good enough for the top 10. DW just have "it" anymore, and he really should bow out gracefully. How long is too long? Well, after 98 I didn't think it was gonna be this bad, and supported his continuing racing, but with hindishgt,m he should've retired then. It's always 20/20 though.

[Jared]

Actually, Joe Fan, DEI has its own engine program. It doesn't rely on RCR engines.

Earnhardt has stated before that he will not drive for his own team, that he wants to end his career in a Richard Childress car. However, there have been rumors that Pennzoil is not happy with the results Park has been getting and has urged Dale to drive his own car.

BTW, there are also rumors on Jayski.com that DEI will be expanding to a three-car team next year.

And as for the drop in souvenier sales, all he has to do is bring out another ugly paint scheme like the Peter Max "neon barf" job at Charlotte. There are people out there who will buy this stuff up.

[Joe Fan]

Jared, if DEI is supplying their own engines then this is new news to me. I am certain that when they first started out Richard Childress was supplying their engines. Didn't Childress supply them to Dale Jr's Busch car? Essentially Jr's Winston Cup team came up with him from BGN.

[Lee]

Childress did supply engines for DEI until they got their own engine program on track. Dale did say that he would not drive his own car, would finish out with Childress. I work about 5 minutes from the Lockheed wind tunnel in Marietta, GA. Always going by to see who is testing. Have seen quite a few cars this way. RCR and DEI test there together a lot. They share a lot of info.
What I read about the 3rd car from DEI was, if they run it they will have Michael Waltrip as the driver. As far as Darrell Waltrip is concerned, I, too feel for him. Would love to see him win one more time, but that probally won't happen. I do however think he has earned the right to finish out his career on the track, so I support him, even though he has to "stroke" around at the back of the pack. I wish him luck.

Lee

[Jared]

The reason you see the Childress and Earnhardt cars together is that they have an alliance (besides the obvious one of Dale driving for one team and owning another). They have hooked up with Andy Petree Racing to form RAD (Richard, Andy, Dale). They share information between them.

As for DEI using Childress motors when they started out, I don't know. Maybe they did.