Wheeler wants Earnhardt to 'get back to winning'

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Leave it to a master promoter to bring a new angle to the stale story of the Dale Earnhardt Jr. contract negotiations with Dale Earnhardt Inc., the racing organization his father Dale and stepmother Teresa founded.

When Earnhardt showed up at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Tuesday ostensibly to promote next month's Nextel Cup All-Star Challenge, colorful LMS track president Humpy Wheeler pulled out a poster labeled "Big Contract" and said he was willing to give Junior .51-percent ownership of the track for just a few "services rendered."

Negotiation easy?

David Caraviello says Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s real task isn't playing hard ball. It's building DEI back to where it should be.

• Complete story, click here
• Large price tag attached
• Junior won't confirm offer

Among the services Wheeler suggested: tram driver, Victory Lane "etiquette coach," pre-race musician and personal chauffeur for track owner Bruton Smith. Earnhardt laughed and said he might perform the last two, but would not have anything to do with the first two.

"I guess our negotiations have begun," Wheeler joked.

The negotiations between Earnhardt and DEI, meanwhile, continue to drag on with little or no visible progress, at least to the public eye. Earnhardt reiterated again Tuesday that there is nothing new to report, even though reports had been circulating that for Earnhardt to fulfill his publicly stated desire of 51-percent ownership in DEI Teresa Earnhardt might very well require him to write a check in the neighborhood of $55 million for control in a company that is estimated to be worth about $110 million.

Asked about those reports, Earnhardt said: "There's really nothing new going on with the contract. When there's something new, I'll tell you. I know you hate to hear it as much as I hate to say it, but there's just nothing new to report."

Wheeler later said he knows what the Earnhardt negotiations are really all about. He said that whether Earnhardt stays with DEI or goes somewhere new, it's all about the popular driver making certain he ends up wherever he will have the best chance to win the most races.

And Wheeler, ever the track promoter, is all for it. It has been 33 races since Earnhardt last won -- almost one full calendar year since he won at Richmond last fall. Wheeler said that is too long.

"What I want to see is him get back to winning. That's what drives ticket sales. He right now tips the cash register better and faster than any driver we've got -- when he wins. And even sometimes when he does really good and he doesn't win," Wheeler said. (Continued)