When it comes to Junior no scenario is out of bounds (cont'd)

The scenario is far from airtight. Mears may be struggling, but he's only in his first year with Hendrick, and he's very close to teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson -- not to mention owner Rick Hendrick himself. There are plenty of personal ties there no one wants to strain. An outfit like Haas CNC Racing may not exactly be keen on having a third car foisted upon it, even it means a sweetheart deal on engines. Pure speculation? Sure. But unthinkable? Not at all.

Junior leaving DEI

Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced he will leave Dale Earnhardt Inc. at the end of this season.

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Neither is this one: Earnhardt, still longing for the ownership slice denied him by DEI, calls up old pal and former teammate Michael Waltrip, who runs a struggling Toyota organization and has failed to qualify for 10 consecutive events. Earnhardt buys interest in the team, switches manufacturer to Chevrolet, and obtains the rights to the No. 33 from RCR. Suddenly Michael Waltrip Racing has a financially sound partner, the sport's most reliable motors under the hood, and a four-car operation with the numbers 00, 33, 44 and 55.

This one is leakier than an oil pan after a crash at Bristol. There are too many unknowns -- will Waltrip or Dale Jarrett, struggling almost as mightily as his car owner, even drive next season? Will sponsors like UPS and NAPA stay on board? Will Michael Waltrip Racing even exist as we know it today? Besides, if Earnhardt really wanted to sink his own cash into an organization with cars outside the top 35 in owner points, he'd be better off just taking JR Motorsports to the Nextel Cup level.

But who knows? Roger Penske owns a Dodge team and has rival brewery Miller as a longtime car sponsor, but even he'd like to sit down and talk with Little E. So would Ginn Racing, a little player trying to position itself on a big stage. It's as if Junior has become a hot high school quarterback prospect, and every college from Florida to Coastal Carolina thinks it has a shot. Maybe Earnhardt should take official visits and announce his intention in a gymnasium, flanked by cheerleaders and a pep band, and wearing a baseball cap indicating his team of choice.

Then again, maybe something totally unexpected will happen. Maybe Gordon will win his fifth Nextel Cup championship, become completely enamored with fatherhood, announce his retirement and move to Fiji. And maybe Hendrick will introduce the new driver of the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet, a lanky fellow with a twangy North Carolina accent, scruffy red beard and familiar last name.

Hey, don't forget that it was the late, great Dale Earnhardt who gave Hendrick his first NASCAR victory, in a Busch car at Charlotte in 1983. So maybe Earnhardt Jr. will follow in his father's footsteps after all. Just not in the way most people envisioned.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.