Junior saddened by EGR's parking of his old No. 8 car

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- It was the number Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove to 17 of his 18 Cup Series career victories.

It was the number his legendary grandfather, Ralph, used to drive. And although his father went on to make another number far more famous, it was the number of the first car Dale Earnhardt drove in the Cup Series in 1975.

Don't blame Teresa

Yes, the No. 8 isn't on the track but David Caraviello says it's not Teresa Earnhardt's fault.

• Complete story
• EGR parks No. 8
• History of No. 8

But there is no No. 8 car entered in Saturday's Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. Earnhardt Ganassi Racing recently announced it was shutting down operations for the car that had been driven this year by Aric Almirola because of a lack of sponsorship funding.

Earnhardt Jr. drove the No. 8 for what was then known as Dale Earnhardt Inc. -- the company founded by his father but run by his stepmother, Teresa, after Earnhardt's death in the 2001 Daytona 500 -- for nearly 300 Cup races from 1999 through 2007. It was then that he left DEI to drive the No. 88 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, following a dispute with Teresa over a new contract that could not be resolved.

"Well, yeah, I'm pretty sad. But I don't think it'll be gone for long," Earnhardt said of the No. 8 being missing Friday during Cup practices at Phoenix.

Earnhardt said he is thankful that after he was unable to get Teresa Earnhardt to part ways with the number 8, he was able to negotiate with Robert and Doug Yates of Yates Racing to secure the number on the car he currently drives.

"I read a lot of the input that [the media] had all week, and sort of got the temperature for what the press is thinking and what the fans have been thinking," he said. "And the one thing about when I was reading those articles that struck me was about how glad I was that Robert and Doug and all those guys at Yates Racing were willing to work with me on the No. 88 [which they owned but agreed to let Hendrick Motorsports use for the younger Earnhardt]. (Continued)