"The Rich Get Richer"
Dale Earnhardt, Jr is now ready to make a pile of cash for himself at Hendrick Motorsports. In case you missed it, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are solidly in the NASCAR Top 12...with Gordon piling up points so he could be with his wife when she gives birth any day now...and still not lose the point lead. Johnson, as you will recall is the defending NASCAR Nextel Cup Champion. (Enough for my MOTO tendency--MOTO=Master Of The Obvious).
Earnhardt Jr needs to bring Anheuser-Busch a championship. He has a personal services contract with the company. The #8 sponsorship is still with Frau Earnhardt at DEI. For how long, we don't know. If A-B jumps the sponsorship to Hendrick (where it used to be with Ken Schrader on the #25), they can leverage that into a big blitz.
Junior needs to win a couple times this year, preferably in the next few races, and get back into the top 12. That will bring momentum to the new Hendrick team, and enhance his reputation as a racer's racer.
This still has more implications...Kyle Busch is looking for a new 2008 team...he'll have no trouble finding it...and it may (as suggested by my advertisers and other commenters) end up being a swap, with Busch going to DEI. You can bet that spite would fuel that effort (it is a powerful emotion, if harnessed properly), if it should come about. Though our laptop woes preclude us from live blogging at the US Grand Prix...we'll still comment on what is happening there.
