What I don't understand about the DEI/Dale Jr. split

[lawdog]

If you all recall, I said right away when this 51% thing came up that she shouldn't give it to him and I still think it was an absurd request from a driver, an employee of the company...

Here is what I really don't get though, why are the Earnhardt fans claiming that he had some superior right to have this company instead of Teresa? Big E and Teresa started this company together and built it up together. If, as many now are claiming, it was just for his kids, he didn't need to leave it to Teresa in his will, but he did. He wanted her to have it. Also, if it was for his kids, wouldn't he want them all to have 1/4 of it instead of Dale Jr. having 51% and the other three spliting up the crumbs (49% betwwen the rest of them)? This entire debate has made absolutely no sense to me from a business perspective.

I fully understand people liking their driver, but to vilanize Teresa for protecting her interest in HER company is just beyond absurd to me. Granted, losing Jr. will hurt DEI immensely in the short term, but long term why should she have just given him half of her company? I just can't grasp that logic. Oh and if you think its so horrible that she has the company and not Little E, aren't you smart enough to realize that BIG E did that, not her???

[TNFL]

Just another case of millionaires fighting over more money. Its a shame!

[LMITOUT]

I watched the press conference today and Jr. said that it was his father's intention that Jr. eventually have a large role in DEI and that he told him that. As time passed after Dale died, it was evident that Dale wasn't getting a larger role and he wanted that settled in this round of contract negotiations. How much Dale and the other siblings were supposed to be involved we'll never know after Sr. passed.

Maybe that language should have been more defined in the will. Tough to say. I'm betting that if someone started a business and had a few kids you wouldn't leave the entire thing to them not knowing if you would die tomorrow and the kids are just getting out of high school for example. Dale didn't intend for Jr. to have DEI at a young age, but did want him in there after he got some years behind him. He was the heir to the company even though he had other siblings and I think that is pretty clear considering that he is the namesake and was following in his father's footsteps. Kerry really wasn't making it so I think it would only be right that Jr lead the company with the others with more of minor role.

Teresa is a figurehead like the Queen of England. Harvick was dead on whe he said she was a deadbeat owner. She was there for the checks to roll in and was running it like a business, which obviously it is, but it is also a multi-faceted race team too which she didn't know enough to run effectively like a Hendrick, Rousch, or Childress....someone who is hands on and knows the business of RACING.

I don't believe Jr wanted to be a team owner, per se, but at least have a say in what happens in the company along with knowing that he has as stake in it now and the future instead of just another employee with a contract. Teresa wouldn't give that up and I wonder if he felt that it would ever happen. Who knows what the stipulations are in Sr's will after he died or even if Teresa would die. Who would she leave it to? It may not even be the kids for all we know. That's unsettling and I'm sure Jr felt the same way.

[NAPAFISH]

I dont believe that the "51%" was the only chip at the table. One would believe there were a few more things discussed that we were not privy to. I would think we would all agree that we know nothing about running a multi-million dollar race car company, that being said. Why would you let your best, most marketable and most popular driver leave?? Why was Max brought in?? This only leaves even more questions. What will happen with Steve Hmiel and Tony Eury Sr. ?? (2 excellent racing minds) I guess we should have seen this coming. (Jr Motorsports leases engines from Childress not DEI) I am puzzled by this whole situation.

The DEI merge w/ RYR would probably be a good idea now.

[jbell1981]

Not a responce to your question, but I thought this was interesting.

A poll on espn aksed:

"Was Earnhardt Jr. asking for too much by seeking a controlling interest in DEI (at least 51 percent)?

Out of nearly 61000 votes more that 90% answered no.

[eyepatrol]

Does anyone suppose that Dale Sr. was hoping the company would bring everyone closer together? Make them more of a tighter-knit family? Or am I going way too deep in thought on this?

[jbell1981]

I think that the company could have brought the family closer together if Sr. were still alive to lead it.

[eyepatrol]

That's what I was thinking too. Had the opposite effect though.

Oh well. I think Jr. fans will really have something to cheer about next year.

[fishing tech]

I think Jr was trying to use his fan power to get the 51%. If he (well I guess he is) goes elsewhere and he runs like sh!t will he have the same power. Look at Kyle Petty, once he went to Petty Enterprise He has done do do. Owning a race team and being THE DRIVER is a very hard position. Going to another team could make or break him.

[harvey lee]

One has to believe that he will do better simply because he will be in better equipment. DEI's cars have been slipping. he will also have better team mates.

[boatfixer]

I agree with Harvey. there's no way he will settle for a so so team OR equipment. Personally, I would like to see him with RCR.

[HOF#13]

The thing is, no one but Dale Jr. knows what his father told him about his wishes for the company and Jr.'s eventual role. As for the will issue Lawdog, we don't know when Dale Sr. last updated his will. Was it 5 years before he passed away, or 2 months? To me that could make all the difference in the world. My will when my kids are 15 will most likely look vastly different from my will when my kids are in their mid-20's. Unfortunately, Sr.'s dream for DEI I feel will be unfullfilled as far as Jr. is concerned. I agree with other's who have said it was more than the 51% ownership issue, and that the companies performance issues and his desire in having control over how to improve them were a large factor in this. As a Jr. fan I have no ill will towards Teresa. She did what she had to do, and Jr. is doing what he feels he has to do. I do think it is a sad deal, and I am sure it has been tough on the entire Earnhardt family.

[Blake]

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If you all recall, I said right away when this 51% thing came up that she shouldn't give it to him and I still think it was an absurd request from a driver, an employee of the company...

Here is what I really don't get though, why are the Earnhardt fans claiming that he had some superior right to have this company instead of Teresa? Big E and Teresa started this company together and built it up together. If, as many now are claiming, it was just for his kids, he didn't need to leave it to Teresa in his will, but he did. He wanted her to have it. Also, if it was for his kids, wouldn't he want them all to have 1/4 of it instead of Dale Jr. having 51% and the other three spliting up the crumbs (49% betwwen the rest of them)? This entire debate has made absolutely no sense to me from a business perspective.

I fully understand people liking their driver, but to vilanize Teresa for protecting her interest in HER company is just beyond absurd to me. Granted, losing Jr. will hurt DEI immensely in the short term, but long term why should she have just given him half of her company? I just can't grasp that logic. Oh and if you think its so horrible that she has the company and not Little E, aren't you smart enough to realize that BIG E did that, not her???

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Absolutely true, without seeing the will, we'll never know, but how many of us would leave the better part of our assets to our kids and bypass momma? I believe the split was inevitable with Sr. gone.

[Uncle Bill]

NASCAR is evolving. Quickly!

Commentators now use the term "free lance" to describe Dale Jr.

I think Jr is looking for the fattest contract he can get.

I don't think it's a personal issue between him and Theresa.

More power to him. He's talented, popular, and he's marketable.

That's a pretty strong suit. And win or lose, he's going to play his hand.

Could you imagine, sometime in the future, seeing a NASCAR draft !

[VMS]

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Could you imagine, sometime in the future, seeing a NASCAR draft !

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HUH?!!! Where'd that come from?

[fishing tech]

You hear of the Jr. nation. Well the Jr. nation is backed by Bud-wise-rrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!! Money and his sponsor should get him a pretty good ride.

[Uncle Bill]

Quote:

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Could you imagine, sometime in the future, seeing a NASCAR draft !

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HUH?!!! Where'd that come from?

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The way some commentators describe JR. as "free lance"

[JohnMickish]

Earnhardt's will left 100 percent of DEI to Teresa: When #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr. demanded 51 percent ownership of Dale Earnhardt Inc., it might have seemed logical that the son of the team founder would already own part of the company. So why doesn't he? Because the will of his father, the seven-time Cup champion killed on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, didn't give him an ownership stake in the team. Earnhardt's will, signed in December 1992, awards 100 percent of DEI to his widow, Teresa, Dale Jr.'s stepmother. The estate filings, which were probated in Iredell County, N.C., show that Teresa Earnhardt owns the race team.(SceneDaily.com)(5-24-2007)

[HOF#13]

The last will that Dale Sr. completed and signed was back 1992?!?! That explains a lot. Dale Jr. was only 18 at the time and DEI was little or nothing at that point. A heck of a lot changed for Dale Sr. and DEI from the time he signed that will in 1992 and when he passed away in 2001. I'm really suprised his last will was that old. I would venture to say that the will was probably a little out-dated in terms of Dale Sr.'s assets, but then again, maybe he never wanted to update it as he was happy with how it read and how his assets were distributed. Nobody but Dale Sr. probably knows that answer 100%.

[harvey lee]

I'm not really concerned with what the will states as yes, if the will states that Theresa gets control, then she gets control.

Why would Jr. want to stay if DEI is lacking in thier equipment and not keeping up with times? If I were Jr I would probably want to also have a shot at winning a championship before my career ends and he feels that it cannot happen with DEI.

I really cannot talk for jr but I would guess this much, if Theresa wont work with him so he feels he has a chance to win, then why wouldn't he leave? If Theresa wont give JR the concessions that he thinks he needs for DEI to win, then he eoither has to try and gain control or leave. What other choice would there be?

I would also venture to say that JR is not wanting it for the money as I dont believe he is in any way hurting and is probably rather wealthy for his young age. He can go to another team, have better equipment and also have a better chance of winning a championship.

[HOF#13]

I agree 100% HarveyLee.

Lars Anderson at sportsillustrated (Contact Us Please) com had a few really good articles on this deal. Some quotes from his story:

"So Earnhardt and I have a bit of history, and after we spoke about some personal things for a chunk of time on Thursday, he slowly shook his head and said in a voice that was chocked with emotion, "I am scared s---less."

"Not many people know the real story here," Junior said.

"I think I do," I replied.

"I think you do, too," Earnhardt said.

The reason Earnhardt is leaving DEI can be summed up in two words: Teresa Earnhardt. Little E and his stepmother have a long and complicated history, just like any son and his stepmother. They've had their share of good moments, but they've also been waging a power struggle that goes back deep into Earnhardt's childhood. One example: When Junior was a teenager it was largely Teresa's decision to send Earnhardt to military school for a year. "Sure as hell wasn't my decision," Earnhardt said with a laugh.

If Teresa would have handed operational control of DEI over to Junior and given him majority ownership of the company -- two things, in fact, that Dale Sr. told me in '00 that he wanted Junior to have, which I wrote about in SI about a month ago -- Earnhardt would have signed a contract extension. I have not met a single person in NASCAR who thought these were unreasonable demands by Junior. After all, his father built the company specifically for his children, not his wife. But Teresa, who rarely speaks to the media, obviously felt like her stepson, who happens to be the most popular driver in the history of auto racing in America, was asking for too much."

It was interesting to read that Dale Sr. had even told this reporter in 2000 that he wanted Jr. to have operational control and majority ownership of DEI.

[LMITOUT]

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It was interesting to read that Dale Sr. had even told this reporter in 2000 that he wanted Jr. to have operational control and majority ownership of DEI.

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Junior said that in his press conference as well. He said that DEI was intended to be run by Jr in the future and he felt that with the current contract expiring, now was the time to move towards that. Dale Sr told Jr that it was the plan for him to run DEI.

[harvey lee]

Sad part is he (Sr ) never put that in writing. Maybe he didnt think he had to, who knows.

[Sifty]

I just went threw the same thing.

One thing said and somthing different in a 15 year old will.

The law, as I saw it only can go with what is on paper.

It does'nt matter who was there or what it has to be in writing.

Sifty