Earnhardt Jr. signs with Hendrick Motorsports

After rumored a "free agent" for a while, Dale Earnhardt Jr. will drive for Hendrick Motorsports in the 2008 NASCAR.

Earnhardt Jr. signs with Hendrick Motorsports Rick Hendrick, the owner of Hendrick Motorsports, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced yesterday the new 5-year deal which will take effect in 2008. The contract will make teammates of Earnhardt out of Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, both with championships in their careers.

But Rick Hendrick is not giving up to the speculations that so much ego would make the team unmanageable. According to Hendrick, his job is to take the talent on the racetrack, and there - it's everybody for themselves. And with four of the best drivers in NASCAR in 2008 , the Nextel Cup will hardly avoid Hendrick Motorsports next year.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will replace Kyle Bush in the Hendrick Motorsports team, but it hasn't been decided yet which car will Dale drive. He could run either with #5 or #25, or they can try and get his #8 from DEI. The sponsor of Earnhardt Jr. is also an unknown - Budweiser has sponsored him since 1999, but Hendrick has four main sponsors already and is not planning on breaking any of those contracts.

The next Nextel race is this Sunday, June 17th, in Michigan, and according to Bodog Sports, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has the odds of winning at 12/1. Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are favorites, as usual, with odds to win the Citizens Bank 400 at 5/1 both. With this move by Earnhardt Jr., betting on NASCAR next year will become even harder and for much smaller return, if the trend by the oddsmakers, to give the Hendrick Motorsports' drivers the favorite odds, continues.

Published on 06/14/2007