DEI coming to the end of search for new driver No. 8

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. won't drive a No. 8 car, but someone at Dale Earnhardt Inc. will. The Nextel Cup organization hopes to have that matter settled in about a week, team president Max Siegel said Sunday.

"We're trying to figure out who will fit into our driver lineup that will complement the entire team and where we want to go as a company," Siegel said at Michigan International Speedway, where the 3M Performance 400 was postponed by rain until Monday. "Right now, I want to put the most confident driver possible in the car."

Whoever that is -- Siegel wouldn't say whether Mark Martin, currently driving part-time in a DEI car, is a possibility -- will face the unenviable task of succeeding NASCAR's most popular driver in a No. 8 vehicle that's become as synonymous with Earnhardt as his last name and ever-present scruff.

Earnhardt wanted to take his car number with him to Hendrick Motorsports, but said negotiations toward that end broke down because stepmother and DEI owner, Teresa Earnhardt, wanted to retain a slice of licensing revenues. (read more)

Siegel played the role of intermediary, trying to broker an agreement between two sides who have become increasingly bitter ever since Earnhardt Jr.'s bid for majority ownership in his late father's company was rebuffed.

"I don't want to get into what broke down. The fact of the matter is, Dale Jr. knows exactly how I feel about the situation, about him. I'm here to represent this company and to work hard to make sure that Dale Earnhardt Inc. is a strong, healthy company for the next 25 years. The reality of the situation is, when you have any sudden negotiations, the best you can do is have an open dialogue. I've been open and very transparent with him," Siegel said.

"It's a very complicated situation. Not only the NASCAR angle of it, but the emotional charge of this whole situation tells you how complex the discussions are, and I have no interest in reopening those discussions and debating them in the media. I understand his frustration and his disappointment. We share that disappointment in the way the future is going. But again, we're going to support him and we're going to do everything we can to represent Dale Earnhardt Inc. in a positive way."

Earnhardt Jr. said he felt all along that Teresa wouldn't part with the number. He's been considering replacements, likely something in the 80s so the 8 will remain as part of his identity. He hopes that his fans will be able to move forward once his new number and sponsor are revealed.

"There's great communication going back and forth, and a lot of great conversations about what our options are and what not," he said Sunday. "We definitely were planning to have to go in this direction, so we got our game together and whenever we decide and whatever we decide, I think that I'm going to be excited about it. I think my fans will be excited about it, and we just kind of [need to] get over the idea that we're not going to be No. 8 no more. I'm fine with that, and hopefully my fans can do the same and we'll build on a new identity."

Siegel said DEI wouldn't have kept the No. 8 if the team had no interest in using it, and added that the keeping primary sponsor Budweiser -- believed to be leaning toward Kasey Kahne for 2008 -- was still a possibility as of Sunday. But he understands the challenge facing DEI, which has been painted as a villain by Earnhardt Jr.'s legion of fans, and next season will have to sell a new driver in what could be awkward surroundings.

"I certainly see it as a tremendous challenge. But every one of the drivers who stepped into this sport started from nothing," he said.

"Unfortunately, [Earnhardt Jr.] didn't stay. I think what I want to do is to continue to build upon the high standard and the principals and the legacy that Dale Sr. and Teresa Earnhardt built this company on. We're going to get competitive drivers in the car, we're going to do everything we can to represent our commercial partners, and to win championships."

The DEI of next season will feature four Nextel Cup cars -- the Nos. 01, 1, 8 and 15 -- and possibly two Busch entries, depending on sponsorship. Siegel said DEI is "well down the road" to re-signing with Chevrolet, which is in the process of extending contracts with its NASCAR entries. And he looks forward to the day when the organization is judged by its performance on the track, and not family power struggles occurring off it.

"Hopefully five years from now, people will say nice things about DEI," Siegel said, "and this will have been a part of our growth process."