“Yoko” Earnhardt Balks & Jr. Walks
It didn’t take long in the motorsports blog world for Teresa Earnhardt to be branded “Yoko” and hammer her because “she broke up the band, man!” by not giving up majority control of DEI (cattily re-named TEI by blog wags) to Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the contract negotiations for their future together. It was a hardball business decision, but when parties share the same last name, the expectations are different. Don’t cry for Teresa Earnhardt, she is a tough businesswoman and now gets a full chance to prove it.
Yet, the unthinkable has happened: Dale Jr. and DEI will not be together after the end of this season. I think Jr. and DEI will separate before the end of the season if the #8 doesn’t make The Chase. The disruptive volatility and pressure of having a lame-duck driver (even one with the best intentions); an
organization now looking over the shoulder of everyone; and the strong likelihood of blue-chip major sponsor Bud following Jr. down the road – will be incredible and ultimately unworkable to sustain the union.
All of this disruption is happening in a team and organization so embroiled in personality and personal family loyalty and epic symbolism (the breaking of a father/son family tradition by a stepmother) – that the stress will be incredible and ultimately unmanageable. The place could be a chapter, or two, or five, out of Homer – or at least a TV miniseries.
The contracts in place; the current making-nice talk; everyone saying they have something to prove – this is what we’d all like to believe can happen to keep the #8 moving forward until a managed, clean break at the end of the year. Maybe it’s just my business management cynicism creeping in that makes me think this -- or the fact that when I found out someone working for me had taken a new job and gave two-weeks notice – I made sure they left that afternoon (as had happened to me when I did the same). When it is time to move on, it is time to move on right now.
I think when such a major figure in your organization is looking forward to new (amazing) opportunities outside the current one, it plants the seeds of discontent or fear or uncertainty or even paralysis in the average co-workers’ mind and the collective mind of the organization. It will take in-house leadership at DEI at least equivalent to when Dale Earnhardt Sr. was killed to hold the place together. Or partnership with an organization that can supply it – Robert Yates Racing?
With this latest chapter of “As The DEI Turns” we now have Dale Jr. declaring his free agency and willing to listen to any NASCAR Cup team that will have him as a driver. Uh, that would be all of them, but only a few make the top tier in meeting what he is looking for. There will be sputterings from other teams about how they would like to be considered: Ginn, Penske – just to be associated with this endeavor and lend credence to their positions.
