Dale Earnhardt Jr. has officially announced he will be leaving the company founded by his late father at the end of the year. Junior told Dale Earnhardt Inc. on Thursday that he had decided to make the switch to another team when his contract expires.
The news of his departure from DEI is bound to start a bidding war for NASCAR's most popular driver. Sportbet.com has Dale Earnhardt Jr. +1300 to win the Dodge Avenger 500 this weekend at Darlington.
Earnhardt Jr. won back to back championships with the team in Nascar's Busch Series in 1998 and 1999 before moving to the Nextel Cup Series full time in the No. 8 Budweiser sponsored car in 2000. The team was started by seven time champion Dale Earnhardt Sr., who died in a racing accident at the Daytona 500 in 2001.
"At 32 years of age, the same age my father was when he made his final and most important career decision, it's time for me to compete on a consistent basis and contend for championships now," Earnhardt said at a news conference. "I believe I'd have my father's blessing."
"We never even got close," Earnhardt said. He stressed money is not the issue.
The issues between Earnhardt Jr. and DEI grew last week after the company confirmed it was in talks to buy Robert Yates Racing, a top Ford Motor Co. team. Earnhardt said he had not intention of switching brands preferring to stick with General Motors Corp.'s Chevrolets.
In a statement, Teresa Earnhardt said DEI will thrive following Junior's announcement.
Sportbet.com has posted betting odds to win the 2007 Dodge Avenger 500:
JEFF GORDON: +370
JIMMIE JOHNSON: +375
TONY STEWART: +575
DENNY HAMLIN: +750
KYLE BUSCH: +750
GREG BIFFLE: +900
MATT KENSETH: +900
KEVIN HARVICK: +900
JEFF BURTON: +1300
DALE EARNHARDT JR: +1300
KURT BUSCH: +1500
CARL EDWARDS: +1750
KASEY KAHNE: +2300
CLINT BOWYER: +2800
MARK MARTIN: +2800
JAMIE MCMURRAY: +3000
RYAN NEWMAN: +3800
MARTIN TRUEX JR: +4300
CASEY MEARS: +4000
FIELD (ANY OTHER): +1000
