In May Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced that he was not able to reach a contract agreement with Dale Earnhardt Inc. president Theresa Earnhardt. At that time Earnhardt became NASCAR's most sought after free agent.
Junior believes that Rick Hendrick can give him the quality equipment and personnel that he needs to win races and challenge for the NEXTEL Cup championship.
The car number, sponsor, color scheme and the rest of those details have not yet been determined. So there is no word if Junior will take over the #5 or will be allowed to bring the #8 with him from DEI. There is also no announcement from Budweiser as to their plans for 2008.
There was no comment available yet from Earnhardt's new teammates Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Casey Mears.
Kyle Busch has not yet made a statement as to his future plans but the very talented Busch brother is expected to land softly at another top-tier team.
The union of NASCAR's most successful team and NASCAR's most popular driver is huge news for the sport. Hendrick is a proven winner. Can Dale Jr. live up to the expectations? We will all find out beginning with the 2008 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season.
