Bitch Is Too Good A Word

When Teresa whatever-her-last-name-once-was married Dale Earnhardt in 1982, she lined herself up with a legacy. It could have turned out to be what the late-great Earnhardt always wanted—to secure a future for his family. The same family he was unable to provide for as he had wanted…that is, until his success at NASCAR.

Dale Earnhardt died in the final turn of the final lap of the Daytona 500 in 2001. He was defending position for his son, Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was running in second place and his teammate Michael Waltrip, who was leading. They had a one-two finish.

The elder Earnhardt has “defended position” for his son, for his family, on and off the track. It was something he strived for his entire life and putting Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI) together was something to help those goals. Teresa took over after his death.

When Dale Jr. expressed concern with the quality of cars he was getting, Teresa didn’t listen. Senior's children, Dale Jr. and Kelley, wanted majority ownership of DEI so they can make the right changes to better the company. It seemed like the natural thing—what Dale Sr. would have wanted. But instead, Teresa fought them, offered 51% ownership for an astronomical fee (even for a millionaire), leaving the real Earnhardts with no choice but to leave the company their father founded. Teresa “defended” her position there. It’s a shame it wasn’t the position we can assume Dale Sr. wanted.

Dale Jr. has signed with the supergroup of Hendrick Motorsports, and his last request from Teresa was to let him keep his number, the 8. The same 8 his grandfather, Ralph Earnhardt, his namesake (Junior’s full name is Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr.), used to drive. Hendrick even offered money, he has lots of it, but in the end, once again, an agreement could not be reached and the 8 stays with Teresa. Everyone wants to know why, but Teresa is silent most times, only opening her mouth to criticize her late husband's son. She's hardly ever at a race, which is rare for a car owner. There are many other curious things. In the days following Dale Jr.’s tough decision to leave DEI, Teresa's people announced a new venture with Childress to improve their motors, something Junior has asked for but never received. It’s funny how last week Junior’s engine blew up (when he was running in the top 5 most of the day) for the fifth time this season. Adding more insult is the fact that his engine was not a DEI-Childress information sharing motor. So Junior has been given the old crap, unlike his teammate Martin Truex Jr., who while a good racer in the Busch series, didn’t make much of an impression on the Nextel circuit until this motor-merger happened. Truex finished in 6th last week (and is 11th in points overall to Dale Jr.’s 14th). Something really stinks, and it isn’t the fact that a legion of Junior’s fans has 8s inked into their skin forever—blood is not something to be messed with.

*Note: Photo is not of me. I've got a 3.