Notes: DEI waiting to find out how much 8 is worth

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Hendrick Motorsports may be interested in obtaining Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s car number, but the organization has yet to make an offer to the driver's current team.

"I have no formal proposals from anyone about the No. 8," Max Siegel, president of global operations at Dale Earnhardt Inc., said Sunday at Michigan International Speedway. "If I get one, anything's possible. We'll talk about it. But I have no formal proposals."

Soon, he likely will. Earnhardt expressed a desire to keep his car number on Wednesday, when his impending move to Hendrick was announced. Team owner Rick Hendrick reiterated his interest in acquiring the No. 8 on Sunday before the Citizens Bank 400. But right now, no one seems exactly sure of what it might take to get it.

"I don't even know if you can quantify it," Siegel said. "I don't know if there's a number or figure for what it's worth. Before I can give any recommendation to my owner, I have to evaluate what the proposal is. One of the reasons why I'm not trying to speculate or give hypotheticals is because it's part of the Earnhardt legacy, whether it's Dale Jr. or the Dale Earnhardt Inc. family. I can't even formulate any kind of recommendation for my owner until someone contacts me and figures out what a meaningful proposal is."

So what is a fair price for a car number? Roush Fenway Racing president Geoff Smith said that depends on how much it would cost a team to rebrand all of their equipment and merchandise, and whether that number alone has enough value to sway potential new sponsors. You add all of that up, and you have a ballpark asking price.

Of course, that's if you're willing to open up the checkbook in the first place. Smith, whose Roush team switched its flagship No. 6 to David Ragan after Mark Martin left for another team, believes fans will come to accept Earnhardt regardless of what number is on the side of his car.

"I think the world will see that Junior could use Mandarin Chinese numbers on the car, and would sell just as much souvenirs as the No. 8. That's my official position," Smith said.

"I personally think that the brand equity is with Junior. It's like the Nike swoosh. There was a Nike before the swoosh, but everybody got to know the swoosh because there was marketing around it. Whatever number he has will take his character. Even though there's some racing history that means something, I think a lot of times it means more to the crew guys and the people who have worked in an organization. At DEI, there's pride in, 'We are the 8.' It's not just the guy."

If he were running DEI, he wouldn't sell. "The number of your team is like the name of your company," Smith said. "It's the 6 team. That's how you want to be known, and you don't want to change your name. So I'd be reluctant to give up my numbers, period."

Busch sweepstakes

Add Ginn Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing to the rapidly expanding list of Nextel Cup operations interested in signing Kyle Busch. The 22-year-old became available for next season when Hendrick released him from his contract a year early in order to sign Earnhardt Jr.

"We would certainly be interested in talking to Kyle, yes," said Jay Frye, general manager of the Ginn team, which may expand to four cars next year. "... He's one of the best Cup drivers that's out here today. So he's a phenomenal talent, and we think he's a great kid. The upside is huge, the potential is huge. And when you think of potential, that means what is yet to come. And he's really, really good right now."

Added Ganassi: "Yes I'm interested, because he's a talented driver. If he was a no-talent driver, nobody would be interested in him."

At least six Nextel Cup teams have expressed an interest in acquiring Busch. That group also includes Evernham Motorsports, Robert Yates Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc., which hopes to expand to four cars in 2008 or 2009.

"We're reaching out," Siegel said. "We'll reach out like everyone else, and try to get in front of him and a number of other drivers we're talking to. Now that he's officially available, he's certainly the caliber of driver we'd like to have in the organization, and we look forward to having discussions with him."

Chevy teams watch, wait

With Chevrolet deals expiring after this season, teams currently associated with the manufacturer are exploring their options for 2008 and beyond. But Toyota executive Lee White said NASCAR's newest carmaker has no plans to pursue any members of the bowtie brigade.

"You'd always like to have Hendrick. It seems like we're in business with him. He sells a lot of Toyota and Lexus products," said White, vice president of Toyota Racing Development. But, "frankly, capacity-wise, we're pretty well strapped right now."

Like other Chevy teams, Joe Gibbs Racing is in a wait-and-see mode, president J.D. Gibbs said.

"For us, I think we're in the same boat as all of the GM guys. We all have our deals," he said. "We wanted to wait and see what happened with the [Earnhardt] Jr. deal. And then we're going to sit down and evaluate. We've been a partner with them for 16 years. We're going to look at it and evaluate and make sure we're on the same page. Obviously, is Toyota out there as a possibility? I think they have probably talked to a number of different groups. Maybe the reality is for us, we'll in-house go over it and figure it out. We've been with GM for a long time."

White added that he can't imagine Chevy letting any of its more successful teams get away. "I don't see GM not renewing those deals," he said. "They've been there for a long time. We're not pursuing anything, and we wouldn't discuss it if we were."