Beer ties might limit Earnhardt
Budweiser's sponsorship of the driver could prevent an otherwise fitting match with Joe Gibbs Racing, owned by an evangelical family.
By Ed Hinton, Special to The Times
May 13, 2007

DARLINGTON, S.C. - Joe Gibbs Racing may not be a prime contender to land free-agent Dale Earnhardt Jr. after all, because of Earnhardt's close ties with a beer sponsor.

"For us it would be hard" to field a car with Budweiser logos, team president J.D. Gibbs told reporters Saturday afternoon at Darlington Raceway, before rain forced postponement of the Dodge Avenger 500.

The race was rescheduled for today at 10 a.m. PDT, and will be telecast live on Channel 11.

The Gibbs family, headed by Washington Redskins Coach Joe Gibbs, is deeply evangelical and has religious objections to alcohol consumption.

Otherwise, JGR fits all the criteria to make it one of the top three contenders for Earnhardt, who announced Thursday that he would not return to Dale Earnhardt Inc. in 2008.

JGR is a Chevrolet team, and remaining loyal to the brand is high on Junior's list. He also wants championship capability, and JGR has won the Nextel Cup season title twice with senior driver Tony Stewart, who is one of Earnhardt's best friends.

And, although Earnhardt has said money is not a major issue for him, JGR has the wherewithal to pay him as well as the other top contenders, Richard Childress Racing and Hendrick Motorsports. Earnhardt's annual income has been estimated at $20.1 million by Forbes.

One prime contributor to his salary is Anheuser-Busch, with its Budweiser brand, which has been pouring about $20 million a year in sponsorship into DEI. Budweiser is roundly expected to go with Earnhardt to whichever team he chooses.

Four times Saturday, J.D. Gibbs, son of the NFL coach, said accepting Budweiser as a sponsor would be "hard." But he didn't say it was impossible.

"They've been a great partner of the sport and do a lot for us, but personally that would be a hard deal for us to do," he said.

But, asked if Budweiser would be a deal-breaker, Gibbs hedged: "I'll just leave it at that right now. I'm not sure if that would fit for us."

That could leave Childress and Hendrick as the two serious contenders. Longshot owners Ray Evernham and Bobby Ginn have said they'll bid for Earnhardt, but both lack his primary prerequisite: proven championship capability.

Hendrick is already at the four-driver limit being phased in by NASCAR, but the sanctioning body has yet to enforce that rule. Team owner Jack Roush is still running five cars, and one of them, Greg Biffle's No. 16, is losing Ameriquest sponsorship after this season. The team is seeking a new sponsor, and NASCAR hasn't raised any objections, at least publicly.

Ginn, an Orlando, Fla., real estate developer, could factor into the picture because his new team already has Hendrick as an engine supplier. Further technical assistance could make Ginn Racing a full-fledged Hendrick satellite team.

But even with all that Hendrick support, and an open checkbook, Ginn Racing is unproven in Earnhardt terms. Ginn has infused money and vastly improved the once-mediocre team he bought last summer as MB2 Motorsports, and his general manager, Jay Frye, is considered one of the most promising young executives in auto racing.

But Ginn may be years away from its first championship. Hendrick and Childress have won six Cup season titles each.

Another possibility might be for Hendrick to farm out the contract of its junior driver, Casey Mears - the only one of Hendrick's four drivers who hasn't won this year - to Ginn. That would leave Hendrick with an open berth to add Earnhardt as a teammate to Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch.

Childress has been considered the leading contender because of his close ties to the Earnhardt family. Dale Earnhardt drove for Childress from 1984 until his death in the 2001 Daytona 500, and won six of his seven championships at RCR.

Earnhardt, should he join Childress, would be on a solid but less star-studded roster, with Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer.

Childress still owns the NASCAR rights to Earnhardt Sr.'s legendary No. 3. But Earnhardt Jr. last week expressed reservations about driving a No. 3 car, saying he'd have to do some "soul-searching."

The only other teams in NASCAR that refuse alcohol sponsorships are Petty Enterprises and the occasional qualifier Morgan Shepherd. Shepherd's reasons are religious; the Petty family follows a family tradition.

Also Saturday, NASCAR inspectors found that the rear wing on Earnhardt's Car of Tomorrow was mounted incorrectly. The brackets used to hold it in place were confiscated.

I'm going to work "Wayward Earnhardt nixed" into all my conversations next week, no matter what they're about.

RCR 3

Why does God hate beer?

Wait..if he was sponsored by water that had been turned into wine, would this work better?

Earnhardt and Gordon teammates? A sign of the apocalypse.

RCR with a Black Budweiser #3.

I don't blame gibbs for not wanting bud as a sponsor. His reasoning may be a little off, though. he should have just said 'bud tastes like pisswater' and moved on

I'm not a Nascar fan but I love the fact that Dale Jr. is leaving his own family's organization. That tells me something is major wrong with whatshername.

Ahh Joe Gibbs, flexing the brilliance that has lead to the Redskins return to dominance.

*snicker*

Hasn't stopped Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin from collecting BUD POLE AWARDS..

This reminds me of a very old joke I've heard in various forms: What's the difference between a Baptist and a Catholic? A Catholic will talk to you at the liquor store.

/seen some Baptists who could drink any other religion under the table

baorao: Ahh Joe Gibbs, flexing the brilliance that has lead to the Redskins return to dominance.

This coming from a Lions fan? What? Are you kidding? Or do you have as much brain power as Matt Millen?

Ah, NASCAR. Auto racing for rednecks. Is it any wonder they're so screwed up with respect to religion?

Let's break it down:
All religion is false.

Thank you.

I'm still pulling for the owners to stand up for their own and shut Junior out of big money. He really could have earned it at DEI, but tried to take over the whole organization. To me, he seems ripe for a downfall. Especially as he's a middling driver, at best.

/Schadenfreude FTW!

burber: This coming from a Lions fan? What? Are you kidding? Or do you have as much brain power as Matt Millen?

At least I know I'm totally farked. Skins fans don't even realize they're about to start two safeties whose weakness is covering the deep ball, and will be paying about $10 million for it. That ought to work out for you.

I'm still pulling for the owners to stand up for their own and shut Junior out of big money. He really could have earned it at DEI, but tried to take over the whole organization. To me, he seems ripe for a downfall. Especially as he's a middling driver, at best.

which explains why he is already the #1 earning driver in the sport? He doesn't necessarily need a big paycheck from a team as he has sponsors etc, and if there was any issue with $$$ or lack of and him talking of stiching to a non Chevy team don't you think hevy would up their sponsorship to make a difference.

As to his abiliy, put him in a team that can provide top cars every week and lets see what he does. Though Nascar still rewards consistancy over winning.

Gibbs is a damn good team though, if you go back to 2000 they have 3 championships and they did with a lot less resources than hendrick or roush, and with half the number of teams that those organizations fielded. But thats what happens when you have good drivers, and not just good equipment. The only team that could win with the pontiac on a regular basis was Gibbs back in the day, with Labonte and Stewart, the cleanest and craziest drivers in racing respectively.


/Bobby Labonte's forgotten championship in 2000 FTW

Is Joe Gibbs aware his NFL team makes tons of cash off of beer sales?

Has Joe Gibbs forgotten that JJ Yeley drives like he's a drunk?

dettigersnw22: Has Joe Gibbs forgotten that JJ Yeley drives like he's a drunk?

Thread over. You win, sir.

Roush Fenway for you on line 2, Mr. Earnhardt Jr.

Coach Gibbs likes The Baby Jesus a little too much.
Cruddy drivers and crews on the NASCAR team and sub-par players, especially quarterbacks, on the Redskins.
As long as they love The Lord and allow Him to touch them in special places, then performance be damned.
Evangelicals are ruining too many sports.

Where are the Wiccan athletes? They've already infiltrated the military. Can they set their sites on the NFL next?

burber: Or do you have as much brain power as Matt Millen?

Speak no ill of Millen's brain, lest thee be smited.

jbernie

Haha put him, M. Waltrip, Dale Jarrett or my grandmother in the 24 or 48 cars and watch them win.

This season has just proven over and over what Mark Martin said years ago: "Technology is winning these races."

Case in point? Look no further than Dale Jarrett. 1999 Cup Champ, 4 time IIRC Darlington Speedway winner who flat out dominated the 2001 Southern 500 couldn't even make the field this weekend for the Darlington race.

/

umlaut75 2007-05-13 12:11:54 PM
I'm still pulling for the owners to stand up for their own and shut Junior out of big money. He really could have earned it at DEI, but tried to take over the whole organization. To me, he seems ripe for a downfall. Especially as he's a middling driver, at best.

It's got Nothing to do with the money, Budweieser is taking care of the cash on that deal.
I just do not understand the wicked stepmothers reasoning... would you rather have 49% of something or 100% of nothing?

I know it's got to be the longest shot in the world... I'm hoping he goes to Penske Racing... gotta say at this point it's more like RCR or Ginn... unless Hendrick gets rid of Casey Mears

Won't go to Gibbs, Bible thumpers, Hate beer.
Won't go to Hendrick, Maxed out with teams, Long term contracts, Too many egos.
Won't go to RCR, That's WAY too big a shadow to be in, I don't blame him at all for not running the 3.
If he stays with Chevy, It will be Ginn or a JR Motorsports deal with support from Hendrick.
It's too bad Junior had to leave, But DEI was going in the wrong direction. His only crime was trying to right the ship before it sank. It would seem that the wicked stepmother has grown accustomed to living off her late husbands legacy. It's a shame that this deabeat owner will allow all the hard work that Dale Sr. put into this company go to waste. In Three years, DEI will be circling the drain. Even faster if this deal with Yates goes through and they start running Fords.

Ok first of all DEI was started in 1980. Dale Jr. was 7 years old when Theresa started helping Dale Sr. build the company from the ground up. They have won numerous Truck Series and Busch Series championships as well.

I can understand her not wanting to turn control over to Junior. All he has done is driven racecars, it is his sister Kelly who takes care of his business deals. How focused would Jr. be anyway when Theresa made the comment saying how he has to decide if he wants to be a race car driver or an entertainment celebrity recently?

From what I have seen of Jr. Motorsports they are not setting the racing world on fire. The #88 NAVY Busch Series car from JR Motorsports hasn't been winning any races or championships. If they try Nextel Cup they will probably be running right behind DEI which would be pretty pointless.

They may not be setting the world on fire right now winning races but besides Hendrick who really is?

/Gibbs is a pretty much a Hendrick team and has been since 1993 when Hendrick sold him one of his teams.

RCR is where he will end up. The fit is too good. Dale will never sign with Hendrick and have to compete internaly with Gordon and Johnson. Ginn is too small and unproven.