In the Field: Elliott Sadler (cont'd)

You never know what contract stipulations any driver has, or any crewmember has, but I bet if some of the guys had that opportunity; they're probably going to go with him.

And why not? He's a great guy to be around, he's definitely focused and enthusiastic about trying to win championships and trying to win races -- and you want to work for a guy like that.

As far as getting into that car, and who might go to DEI? I don't know, and that's a tough question. DEI just let the best-known driver and the biggest face our sport has ever had just walk out the door.

So as a driver you have to ask, 'what kind of commitment do they really have?' And that's what I would ask if I was a driver looking to go over there.

I'm not saying they're not committed, but it's just a weird deal and personally -- I wouldn't want to drive the 8 car.

If I took a job tomorrow to go over there and drive at DEI -- and I'm not because I'm pretty happy here at Evernham Motorsports -- I would love for them to change the number because I would not drive the 8 car.

And that's because Dale has built so much of a brand with him and that number, I don't think it would be right for anyone else to drive it. I don't think anybody would feel comfortable driving that number, to be honest with you.

I'd ask them to change it, one way or the other, or to do something to it -- like, put a 1 to one side of it, or the other.

I don't think Teresa Earnhardt is going to let Dale have that number, wherever he ends up going -- and I don't think money is the object on that score, either.

I just think Teresa will not let him have it, and that's my opinion. I think that's a DEI number and I don't know whether she'll let him have it or not. I think she should let him have it if he wants it, but that's just my opinion.

But I don't think she will. I mean, that's a DEI number and she has some brand built with that number, for her company -- and you've got to understand that. It's probably worth a lot of money to her company, also.

But again, my opinion as a driver -- and I don't care who you put over there, and how big their name is in this sport -- they will always be overshadowed by that number 8 because that was Earnhardt Jr.'s first number in Cup racing.

They could probably go on to win a lot of races with that car, with whatever kind of sponsor, but if it's still that No. 8 with that same font and that same look to it, it's still going to be Earnhardt Jr.'s number.

I don't know that we'll see two Budweiser cars next season in Nextel Cup. That's a lot of money, because it takes a lot of money nowadays to sponsor a car and I think that would be hard for a company to sponsor both.

But you never know what those guys have got planned. That's one thing -- Anheuser-Busch has always done an amazing job on marketing in the areas they've been in, and with the commercials they make, which are always eye-catching.

And they're not sponsoring the Busch Series any more, so I'm not going to make a prediction because I'm not sure what's going on as far as that side is concerned.

But I do know they've built such a great brand around Dale Jr. and his personality and his face that it seems like that would be the right thing for them to do -- to go wherever he goes.

Bottom line, he wants to be competitive and win races, and he's going to go wherever he feels like he can do that.

For right now, I think his team will be able to compete, and they showed that at Darlington with a top-10. But a couple months down the road, if they don't have a person to go in the 8 car yet, for next year, then when do those crew guys start getting nervous and look outside of DEI?

They have to make sure they have security. I think that's the biggest issue they're going to have, if they're not competing for the championship. If they do have a driver coming in, that's great.

If they know they're going to have a two- or three-car team and they know they'll have security, they'll be fine.

But if they have a hard time filling that car, some crew guys are going to want to make sure they're in a secure position because guys have wives and kids they have to take care of.

But I think as far as the 8 car and their performance, I think they're going to be fine because they're a pretty tight-knit group -- no matter what happens with Tony Jr. and his suspension from his penalty at Darlington.

Tony Jr. is going to give it his all, no matter if he's at the track or not, and where they're going to be next season. They've grown up together and I don't think he'll turn his back on him.

They're racers, and that's what they're going to do -- keep contending for that Chase like we're all doing.

Elliott Sadler, now in his ninth full season in the Cup Series, shares weekly with NASCAR.COM readers life on the road through staff writer Dave Rodman.