Earnhardt Jr. confident deal with DEI will get done
The Latest on Earnhardt and DEI
CONCORD, N.C. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a "Big Contract" from Lowe's Motor Speedway in hand on Tuesday and is confident an even bigger one with the company his father built will get done.
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"Yeah, I am," Earnhardt Jr. said when asked if he was optimistic a new deal with Dale Earnhardt Inc. would happen. "I'm pretty excited that things are going to be fine, things are going to work out with our negotiations."
Earnhardt met with reporters at LMS to reminisce about his 2000 win in NASCAR's all-star race and later appeared on a teleconference.
He was more positive than ever that a deal would be reached to keep him at DEI and make his sister, Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, a big part of the organization.
"It's not been 'if [it will get done]' at all," Earnhardt Jr., said. "We've both worked together and it's all been positive. We've just made an agreement between ourselves to try not to talk about it in the media or insinuate anything until we're ready to release the details.
"Both sides have made that agreement. We had to make it a little bit firmer obviously after this weekend."
Max Siegel, the president of global operations at DEI, acknowledged that Earnhardt Jr. has been offered ownership of the company in response to questions about a web report saying owner Teresa Earnhardt had signed off on that.
A source close to the situation said Earnhardt Jr. had been offered 51 percent and a seat on a board of directors with his sister.
Earnhardt Jr. and Elledge have said only that no "formal" offer has been made, but never denied ownership was not on the table.
"We're just trying to work on it without any press, which is kind of difficult," Earnhardt Jr. said. "Maybe typically it ain't fair to you or the public, but we like to do this on our own terms here."
After talking in great detail about how special the 2000 all-star race was because his father spent the entire celebration in Victory Lane, Earnhardt Jr. was asked what the seven-time champion would think about the negotiations.
"If my dad was alive, a lot of things would be different, a whole lot," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I don't like to get hypothetical. I think he would be pretty proud of what I've been able to accomplish."
Earnhardt Jr. added that his fans should not be worried.
"I'm going to be fine and I'm going to win races and my sister is going to be happy, my mom is going to be happy and my family will be taken care of," he said.
Earnhardt Jr. said negotiations have not become a distraction as he feared.
"There is a period in the contract negotiations where you will run into some statements, but you'll also run into some waiting periods where you're waiting back on a response," he said.
"You're working out these little instances, and it just takes time and there's nothing really to tell the press because there's nothing really changed."
LMS president H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler opened his press conference by presenting Earnhardt Jr. with a poster-size contract that said, "Big Contract."
Wheeler said for 51 percent of LMS Earnhardt Jr. would have to agree to be a tram driver, Victory Lane etiquette coach, a pre-race musician and LMS owner Bruton Smith's chauffer.
"I'll do it if I don't have to be a tram driver and the pre-race musician," said Earnhardt Jr., who has taken up the drums.
When Wheeler asked if the 51 percent would be enough, Earnhardt Jr. smiled and said, "You put a lot of work into that."
Earnhardt Jr. and his sister have put a lot of work into his contract. He expressed complete confidence in letting Elledge handle the bulk of negotiations.
"She knows Teresa," he said of their stepmother and the owner of DEI. "She knows the company really well. She knows the people working with them, working through the deals of Wrangler deals, Chevrolet deals. She knows all that.
"I think that's going to help her in working with everybody. We're all getting to know Max, who is a really cool guy. He's got a lot of passion. Just working with Max has been an experience and been pretty enjoyable."
Earnhardt Jr., however, is concerned the story will become stale and wear people out.
"One of my favorite shows is 'Around The Horn' on ESPN, and they were talking about it on there," Earnhardt Jr. said. "So I know that it's getting old when 'Around The Horn' is debating whether it's getting old."
David Newton covers NASCAR for ESPN.com. He can be reached at dnewtonespn@aol.com.
