Junior: It's time for me to contend for championships

MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- In perhaps the most riveting Deal or No Deal drama in NASCAR history, Dale Earnhardt Jr. made his emphatic decision public Thursday.

That the announcement was being made in the heart of his own JR Motorsports shop didn't say it all -- because what Earnhardt left unsaid for the moment is where he is headed next as the sport's most popular driver -- but it did speak volumes.

It meant that Earnhardt had told his stepmother, Teresa Earnhardt, and by extension the company that was founded by his late father, that there would be no deal to keep him long term at Dale Earnhardt Inc.

Earnhardt Jr. leaving DEI at end of season

In a news conference at his JR Motorsports race shop on Thursday, Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced he will leave DEI at the end of this season.

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As tape recorders and television cameras whirred and hummed and recorded the historic moment, Junior made it official: he's parting ways with DEI when his current contract runs out at the end of this season (watch video). He essentially announced that he is becoming a free agent, and said he is willing to talk to any other currently established race teams who would like to open serious discussions with him about driving for them next season and well into the future.

He did say that he would prefer to continue driving for a team that runs Chevrolets. Although Earnhardt said he wasn't ready to narrow down his list of potential future employers, his stated criteria immediately places Hendrick Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing at the top of the list of possibilities, with Ginn Racing at least certain of getting some face time with the driver before a decision is reached.

Earnhardt also said that, although he would prefer to drive for a team already established, he would consider forming his own Nextel Cup team if he can't reach an acceptable agreement with a current team within a reasonable but as yet undetermined timetable.

"Those of you who know me know that I don't like to keep things under wraps. I'm usually pretty honest," Earnhardt said. "After a year of intense negotiations and intense efforts on behalf of Dale Earnhardt Inc. and JR Motorsports, we decided that it's time for us to move on and seek other opportunities for me to drive for a new team in 2008.

"We both worked extremely hard to find common ground, but as the negotiations continued, one thing became evident: we both want to get to the same place, but we both simply have different visions on how to get there."

As recently as two weeks earlier, Earnhardt had said that he believed he would return to DEI for next season and beyond. But in the end, he said Thursday that the parties never really were close to reaching common ground on an agreement. The crux of their disagreement appeared to center on what exact course should be followed to get the DEI race teams more competitive. (Continued)