Junior's Options May Narrow Quickly

Last week Dale Earnhardt Jr. rightfully spurned the right to renew his contract with his stepmother's racing team, his father's company. He asked for, and was denied, a 51% stake in it. Fact is, Junior is bigger than the company, both in fan adoration and in marketability. So he walked. As fellow driver Tony Stewart put it, without Dale, his stepmother's company is "a museum."
Besides, she spends her days sitting on a luxury boat, not running a racing team. The smart money says that Junior will jump to Henderick Motorsport, but plenty of big heads already crowd that team, including a driver whose name begins with Jeff and ends with Gordon. It's not clear that Earnhardt Jr., could add much to the value of Hendrick's stable. The other likely offer will come from Richard Childress Racing. It's quite possible that Junior could one day climb back into his father's #3 race car. But he's got to begin winning races first.