Junior is where he wanted, but didn't think it possible

MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- When Dale Earnhardt Jr. was in the midst of the process of making the difficult decision to leave the race organization founded by his late and very famous father, one of the people he sought advice from more than once was Rick Hendrick.

At the time, Earnhardt didn't think he ultimately would be signing up to drive for Hendrick Motorsports -- the mega-team that eventually did lock Earnhardt up for five years, beginning in 2008. Earnhardt said Wednesday that he simply was seeking advice from Hendrick, and that he was sure the advice he did receive came from the heart.

"Every time my contract came up, he came to me and never once was there a motive of trying to get me to drive for him," Earnhardt said of Hendrick. "He came to me and said, 'I know you and your sister [adviser Kelley Earnhardt Elledge] are the only two you have. If you need lawyers, if you need any kind of help or whatever to get the deal you want, let me know and I can send some people over and help you and look at your stuff."

Shortly after Earnhardt announced May 10 that he definitely would be leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc., at the end of the 2007 season, Hendrick was asked about his possible pursuit of Earnhardt and said "there's no room at the inn," implying that his four-car team was set for '08 and beyond.

As it turns out, it wasn't. Hendrick said Wednesday that contract extension talks with Kyle Busch began to break down as Busch drew interest from several other teams. That and presumably other factors -- such as Busch's often immature behavior -- led Hendrick to eventually make room for Earnhardt.

But at the time he first made the statement, neither Hendrick nor Earnhardt saw what ultimately transpired Wednesday as being much of a possibility.

"When he made the quote that there wasn't no room over at his building, at around that time we were talking about a last resort would be to run a team out of here [at JR Motorsports, Earnhardt's Busch Series shop]. He said, 'Whatever deal you sign, I want to help you. I just want you to be happy. If you want a deal [at JR Motorsports], I'll help you do it if I have to come over here and do it myself," Earnhardt said of Hendrick. (Continued)