Dale Earnhardt Inc. has taken on the appearance of the Titanic soon after it hit the iceberg, taking water and heading to the bottom. Mark Martin is leaving following this season. Martin Truex Jr., sources say, is trying to follow him out the door. Paul Menard, rumors say, is talking about switching to Yates Racing, taking his sponsorship with him.
It is a scenario that would transform DEI into a wasteland from the thriving organization it was at the start of the 2007 season. Aric Almirola, who will replace Martin in the No. 8, would become the team’s only confirmed and funded driver. From there, DEI would face a crisis of confidence in trying to convince the new sponsors and drivers needed to rebuild a multi-car operation in Sprint Cup.
Stop. As ugly as the future may look for DEI, it hasn’t happened yet. And Menard doesn’t expect it to. He paints a much prettier picture.
Menard says he has a deal with DEI next season. More than that, he has high hopes for the organization’s future.
“I expect to be here,” Menard said. “I’ve been here four and a half years and they welcomed me with open arms when I first went there. It is almost like a big family.”
Menard also expects Truex to remain and for Almirola to make a solid contribution in his first full Cup season. Truex’s contract contains an ambiguous option clause for 2009 that may or may not be binding, depending upon legal interpretation. Sources say Truex is the frontrunner for the vacancy at Penske Racing. There could be an additional opportunity at Richard Childress Racing and, possibly, Stewart Haas.
“Everybody seems to want Martin Truex to leave,” Menard said, “but he’s under contract. I don’t see him leaving. Aric will be a rookie next year, but he has Cup experience and lots of other racing experience. Aric is living in the area [DEI shop in Mooresville, N.C.] and he’s around to talk about things. Mark [Martin] lives in Florida. He never came around the shop or sat in meetings. If he was at the shop every couple of months, that was a lot. I don’t see it being a step backwards to have Aric.”
After DEI lost Dale Earnhardt Jr. to Hendrick and Budweiser to Gillett Evernham, Menard admits it’s been both a rebuilding and transitional year.
“DEI, with Dale Jr. leaving, lost big income from Budweiser,” Menard said. “Tony Eury Jr. left [to join Junior at Hendrick] and that was a bigger blow. He’s a pretty sharp guy. He thinks outside the box a lot. But overall, we’ve had some great people coming to DEI. With the new shop, we’re all side-by-side and I haven’t seen four cars work as closely as we are now.
“There’s a lot more sharing of information at the shop and the track. After every practice, all four drivers sit down and we brainstorm with the engineers and crew chiefs. That’s never happened before. We have a lot of tools at DEI that we didn’t have last year.”
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