Childress, Gibbs ponder the driver who got away

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- NASCAR team owner Richard Childress spent much of this week in New Zealand, gunning for a few species of animal that the noted hunter wanted to add to his collection. Meanwhile, rival Rick Hendrick bagged another type of big game.

That would be Dale Earnhardt Jr., who announced Wednesday that he would drive for Hendrick Motorsports for the next five years. The news conference in Mooresville, N.C., brought an end to a month-long process in which Earnhardt also considered other organizations, including the one that made his late father a star.

But in the end, Earnhardt decided that Richard Childress Racing wasn't the place for him. And Friday, that seemed all right with Childress.

"He made his decision. All I can say is, I'm happy that he's happy," Childress said. "That's all I can say for him. I told him from Day 1, I wanted him to stay at DEI, but if he left there, let's talk. But I said at the end of the day, I want you to make the decision that's the best for Dale Jr. Don't do what the fans want or what everybody thinks is right. Do what's right for Dale Jr."

RCR's drivers weren't quite as open with their feelings. Whatever reaction they had was kept mostly locked behind tight lips and terse words uttered Friday at Michigan International Speedway.

"We've got to focus about what we need to do to make RCR better and beat these guys," driver Clint Bowyer said. "That's what we need to do. I'm not really worried about it. If [Earnhardt] is not going to come to RCR, then I don't care where he goes."

Was there anger, frustration, or disappointment in Earnhardt getting away from the team that fielded six championship cars for his father? It was difficult to tell. In the preseason, when questions over Earnhardt's status with Dale Earnhardt Inc. were rampant, Kevin Harvick talked about how he'd like to have NASCAR's most popular driver as a teammate. But Friday, he had little to say.

"My honest opinion? I could care less," he said.

Even before his split with DEI was complete, Earnhardt had an open invitation to join Childress' three-car operation. It was the choice many of Earnhardt's fans, who longed to see him drive his late father's old No. 3 car, wanted him to make. Instead Earnhardt chose NASCAR's most successful active organization, with 10 race wins this year alone, and an opportunity to mold more of an identity for himself.

"Hendrick, obviously, as a driver, it's a place where certainly you would want to look at going," RCR driver Jeff Burton said. "Junior did what I think most drivers in the garage would have done. Rick Hendrick runs a great program, and has a lot of good people over there. From the outside looking in, I'd say he made a good decision."

Asked if there was any disappointment at RCR over Earnhardt's decision, Burton took a long pause. "I'd prefer you talk to Richard about that," he said. "I wouldn't .... yeah, I'd prefer you talk to Richard about that."

Childress was tougher to find than the game he stalked in the Southern Hemisphere. The team owner returned late this week from New Zealand, where he bagged obscure animals such as the chamois (which looks like an antelope), the thar (which has horns, a heavy coat, and lives in the high mountains), and the red stag (an elk-like beast with majestic horns that can have up to 30 points). Reporters gathered outside an RCR team hauler for more than an hour Friday, only to learn that the jet-lagged Childress had fallen asleep in his motor coach.

He was finally tracked down after Friday's ARCA race, where RCR developmental driver Tim McCreadie finished fourth. But the subject of the conversation was Earnhardt.

"I just want the best for him," Childress said. "I've known Junior since he was a kid. I think we could have won races and we could have won championships. I'm sure there are a lot of reasons, and I'm just happy for him that he made the decision. You're not going to make everybody happy when you make a decision, and the main thing is to make yourself happy."

RCR wasn't the only team Earnhardt turned down. He also spoke with Joe Gibbs Racing, but driver Denny Hamlin got the feeling a week ago that the marriage wasn't made to be.

"Their last conversation with that whole camp, it sounded like they already had their minds made up before that whole deal even started," said Hamlin, a good friend of Earnhardt's. "I think going to other teams was really just a motion that they went through. It was a protocol kind of thing."

On Wednesday, Earnhardt admitted that he favored Hendrick all along. Hamlin could see the end result coming, saying Gibbs officials "were kind of a little discouraged after their last conversation, and basically said the chances were very slim."

When Earnhardt announced his intention to split from DEI, Hamlin talked openly about how much he'd like to add his friend as a teammate. That led to some disappointment when Junior's ultimate decision was revealed.

"A little bit of disappointment, yeah," Hamlin said. "I think you end up putting yourself in a box when that happens. I can't talk about that too much, but for the most part I feel it could be better in the long haul for our team to stay the way it is. Because basically Gibbs kind of flies under the radar, and Hendrick right now is going to have all the stars. They've got three of the big four drivers in their stable, and whether that's good for one race team or not, I'm not too sure."