Nascar Blog

I didn’t get to see qualifying yesterday, for some reason I have a hard time remembering it can be later or even re-broadcast later as it is usually run while I’m at work. Dale Jr laid down a lap at a blistering 192.761 mph, the fastest the COT has run since its inception, a 1 mile an hour faster than Gordon, who qualified in 5th position, but it only ended up making Jr 0.148 of a second faster than Gordon. Video of Jr’s lap is after the jump.

Earnhardt paced Friday’s qualifying session at the 1.54-mile race track with a lap at 192.716 mph, good enough to edge 2008 race winner Kyle Busch (192.280 mph) for the top spot. Juan Montoya (192.106 mph) qualified third, followed by Mark Martin (191.814 mph) and Jeff Gordon (191.774 mph).

The pole was Earnhardt’s second at Atlanta, the ninth of his career, his first since April 2008 at Texas and his third since September 2002 at Kansas. Tempering his elation at qualifying first, however, was the knowledge that Earnhardt is suffering through a winless streak that reached 60 races last week at Las Vegas.

“We’re just hungry, so hungry to do much better on Sunday,” said Earnhardt, who hasn’t won since June 2008 at Michigan. “We qualified well in Vegas [fourth], and we were pretty happy to put ourselves in the middle of the company; we were around up there in the top 10.

“To be able to do what we did [Friday night] means a lot to us, but we’re starving for a good finish and something like this to happen on Sunday for us — and that’s really all we can think about.” Source:

Here is how they qualified:
1 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Amp Energy / National Guard 192.761 28.761 Leader
2 18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M’s 192.280 28.833 -0.072
3 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet Target 192.106 28.859 -0.098
4 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet HendrickCars.com / GoDaddy.com 191.814 28.903 -0.142
5 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet National Guard / DuPont 191.774 28.909 -0.148
6 9 Kasey Kahne Ford Budweiser 191.688 28.922 -0.161
7 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet Tornados 191.549 28.943 -0.182
8 19 Elliott Sadler Ford Hunt Brothers Pizza 191.436 28.960 -0.199
9 00 David Reutimann Toyota Aaron’s Dream Machine 191.186 28.998 -0.237
10 99 Carl Edwards Ford Scotts 191.087 29.013 -0.252
11 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 191.054 29.018 -0.257
12 47 Marcos Ambrose Toyota Lance Snacks / Tom’s Snacks 190.935 29.036 -0.275
13 16 Greg Biffle Ford U.S. Census 190.850 29.049 -0.288
14 17 Matt Kenseth Ford Valvoline 190.791 29.058 -0.297
15 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet Office Depot / Old Spice 190.692 29.073 -0.312
16 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s / Kobalt Tools 190.640 29.081 -0.320
17 6 David Ragan Ford UPS 190.574 29.091 -0.330
18 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet BB&T 190.561 29.093 -0.332
19 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota NAPA Auto Parts 190.548 29.095 -0.334
20 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Office 190.424 29.114 -0.353
21 71 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet TaxSlayer.com 190.267 29.138 -0.377
22 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Caterpillar 190.221 29.145 -0.384
23 98 Paul Menard Ford CertainTeed / Menards 189.987 29.181 -0.420
24 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 189.915 29.192 -0.431
25 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford Insignia / Best Buy 189.857 29.201 -0.440
26 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 189.798 29.210 -0.449
27 66 Dave Blaney Toyota Prism Motorsports 189.590 29.242 -0.481
28 12 Brad Keselowski Dodge Mopar / FLO TV 189.571 29.245 -0.484
29 20 Joey Logano Toyota The Home Depot 189.189 29.304 -0.543
30 36 Mike Bliss Chevrolet Wave Energy Drink 189.144 29.311 -0.550
31 13 Max Papis Toyota GEICO 189.112 29.316 -0.555
32 82 Scott Speed Toyota Red Bull 189.079 29.321 -0.560
33 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota FrontRowJoe.com 189.060 29.324 -0.563
34 21 Bill Elliott Ford Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center 189.021 29.330 -0.569
35 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 189.015 29.331 -0.570
36 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge Mobil 1 188.970 29.338 -0.577
37 38 David Gilliland Ford Charter Air Transport / Taco Bell 188.341 29.436 -0.675
38 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet Furniture Row Companies 187.958 29.496 -0.735
39 7 Robby Gordon Toyota Warner Music Nashville / Blake Shelton 186.403 29.742 -0.981
40 34 Travis Kvapil Ford Long John Silver’s 185.430 29.898 -1.137
41 37 Kevin Conway Ford Extenze 184.812 29.998 -1.237
42 26 Boris Said Ford Sacred Power / Southern Pride Trucking 182.916 30.309 -1.548
43 55 Michael McDowell Toyota Prism Motorsports 188.758 29.371 -0.610

Did Not Qualify
44 09 Aric Almirola Chevrolet Phoenix Racing 188.066 29.479 -0.718
45 190 Casey Mears Chevrolet Juice Air Fre
sheners / SmellMyCar.com 187.678 29.540 -0.779
46 46 Terry Cook Dodge Whitney Motorsports 186.122 29.787 -1.026
(continue reading…)

They qualified the first two positions yesterday for the 2010 Daytona 500, and it’s an all Hendricks front row, again. The rest of the qualifying spots will be determined by the twin 125 races this coming week. As far as the times on this qualifying run go, Johnson was 7th and Gordon was 10th, so all of the Hendricks vehicles were running in the top 10. After looking like he was going to do well in the Bus Shootout, things are looking good for Gordon as well in the Daytona 500.

Three weeks ago, at a Fan Fest appearance at Daytona International Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. spoke of a renewed spirit of cooperation at the Hendrick Motorsports shop shared by the No. 5 and No. 88 teams.

What Earnhardt termed a “change in culture” spurred by personnel moves within the shop was in full flower Saturday at Daytona.

Daytona 500 quals
Video: Martin races to pole
Video: Junior on front row
Results: Qualifying times
Lineup: Gatorade Duel 1
Lineup: Gatorade Duel 2
Mark Martin, who led the Sprint Cup Series with seven poles last year, added another to his resume, putting his No. 5 Chevy in the top starting spot for the Feb. 14 season-opening Daytona 500. Navigating the 2.5-mile superspeedway in 47.074 seconds (191.188 mph), Martin edged Earnhardt (190.913 mph) for the pole.

Those two drivers, who will start first and second in the 52nd running of NASCAR’s most prestigious race, are the only two who know their positions on the grid for the Valentine’s Day event. The starting order for the rest of the 43-car field won’t be determined until Thursday, with the running of the two Gatorade Duel 150-mile qualifying races. Source: Nascar.com

Here is how they qualified:
1 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet GoDaddy.com
2 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Amp Energy / National Guard
3 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet U.S. Army
4 21 Bill Elliott Ford Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center
5 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet Target
6 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite
7 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s
8 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Cheerios / Hamburger Helper
9 18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M’s
10 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont
11 17 Matt Kenseth Ford Crown Royal
12 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge Mobil 1
13 82 Scott Speed Toyota Red Bull
14 47 Marcos Ambrose Toyota Kroger Floral
15 12 Brad Keselowski Dodge Penske Racing
16 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota NEMCO Motorsports
17 20 Joey Logano Toyota The Home Depot
18 71 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet TaxSlayer.com
19 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker
20 151 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA Auto Parts
21 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet Office Depot / Old Spice
22 00 David Reutimann Toyota Aaron’s Dream Machine
23 98 Paul Menard Ford Peak / Menards
24 6 David Ragan Ford UPS
25 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford Best Buy
26 99 Carl Edwards Ford Aflac
27 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Express
28 9 Kasey Kahne Ford Budweiser
29 36 Mike Bliss Chevrolet Wave Energy Drink
30 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil
31 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Caterpillar
32 7 Robby Gordon Toyota Monster Energy
33 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota NAPA Auto Parts
34 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet Furniture Row Companies
35 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull
36 19 Elliott Sadler Ford Stanley
37 16 Greg Biffle Ford 3M
38 132 Reed Sorenson Toyota Dollar General
39 190 Casey Mears Chevrolet Keyed-Up Motorsports
40 13 Max Papis Toyota GEICO
41 49 David Gilliland Toyota Warner Music Nashville / Larry the Cable Guy
42 34 John Andretti Ford Window World Cares
43 197 Jeff Fuller Toyota FrontRowJoe.com
44 38 Robert Richardson Jr. Ford Mahindra Tractors
45 37 Travis Kvapil Ford Extenze
46 09 Aric Almirola Chevrolet Phoenix Racing
47 46 Terry Cook* Dodge Whitney Motorsports
48 26 Boris Said Ford Window World Cares
49 66 Dave Blaney Toyota Prism Motorsports
50 55 Michael McDowell Toyota Prism Motorsports
51 175 Derrike Cope Dodge Asset Protect/Strutmasterspro.com
52 127 Kirk Shelmerdine Toyota Kirk Shelmerdine Racing
53 192 Mike Wallace Dodge K-Automotive Motorsports
54 157 Norm Benning Chevrolet Norm Benning Racing

Update:
Here is how they will start the Daytona 500:
1 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet GoDaddy.com
2 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Amp Energy/National Guard
3 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s
4 9 Kasey Kahne Ford Budweiser
5 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell/Pennzoil
6 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet Office Depot/Old Spice
7 18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M’s
8 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet Target
9 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Cheerios/Hamburger Helper
10 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite
11 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet Furniture Row Companies
12 19 Elliott Sadler Ford Stanley
13 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops/Tracker
14 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota NAPA Auto Parts
15 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford Best Buy
16 20 Joey Logano Toyota The Home Depot
17 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet U.S. Army
18 47 Marcos Ambrose Toyota Kroger Floral
19 6 David Ragan Ford UPS
20 00 David Reutimann Toyota Aaron’s Dream Machine
21 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont
22 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull
23 16 Greg Biffle Ford 3M
24 17 Matt Kenseth Ford Crown Royal
25 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Express
26 12 Brad Keselowski Dodge Penske Racing
27 99 Carl Edwards Ford Aflac
28 36 Mike Bliss Chevrolet Wave Energy Drink
29 55 Michael McDowell Toyota Prism Motorsports
30 82 Scott Speed Toyota Red Bull
31 13 Max Papis Toyota GEICO
32 98 Paul Menard Ford Peak/Menards
33 34 John Andretti Ford Window World Cares
34 7 Robby Gordon Toyota Monster Energy
35 37 Travis Kvapil Ford Extenze
36 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge Mobil 1
37 38 Robert Richardson Jr. Ford Mahindra Tractors
38 26 Boris Said Ford Window World Cares
39 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Caterpillar
40 21 Bill Elliott Ford Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center
41 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota NEMCO Motorsports
42 71 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet TaxSlayer.com
43 151 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA Auto Parts

Did Not Qualify
44 190 Casey Mears Chevrolet Keyed-Up Motorsports
45 127 Todd Bodine Toyota Kirk Shelmerdine Racing
46 49 David Gilliland Toyota Warner Music Nashville/Larry the Cable Guy
47 46 Terry Cook Dodge Whitney Motorsports
48 175 Derrike Cope Dodge Asset Protect/Strutmasterspro.com
49 09 Aric Almirola Chevrolet Phoenix Racing
50 66 Dave Blaney Toyota Prism Motorsports
51 132 Reed Sorenson Toyota Dollar General
52 192 Mike Wallace Dodge K-Automotive Motorsports
53 157 Norm Benning Chevrolet Norm Benning Racing
54 197 Jeff Fuller Toyota FrontRowJoe.com

Here are some videos from the 2010 Daytona 500 qualifying.

I was reading an article on Nascar.com about the some of the drivers opinions on the upcoming changes, and this quote from Jeff Gordon really got my spirits up about the coming season and hopefully a lot better racing.

Jeff Gordon said he was excited about “the biggest restrictor plate since 1989″ because it would give drivers “more power under the hood.” Gordon added that teams also have been told by NASCAR that drivers will have a greater opportunity to police themselves in certain situations in 2010 as well — which he said he welcomes.

“I think sometimes it’s appropriate for them to get involved, but usually the drivers are pretty good at policing themselves,” Gordon said. “I know [owner] Rick [Hendrick] has been part of some occasions when they had to get involved, but I love the idea of, ‘Let’s just go race.’ That’s what this sport was built on, that’s what fans love. That’s what drives this sport and creates advertising and sponsorship opportunities and puts fans in the seats and glued to their TVs at home.

“So I think we’ve got some really cool things in store for 2010. … I think NASCAR is ready to let us put some really great racing out there.” Source: Nascar.com

Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson were talking about the yellow line rule still being in effect, all seem to be glad of that, Dale Jr. said I think if you took the rule away you would figure out real quick why they had it to start with. But Mark Martin had a great idea, repeal the rule for the last lap, and let all hell break loose.

“In a perfect world, no, I wouldn’t have that,” Martin said. “But if we’re really trying to treat the race fans, I’m willing to wreck from Turn 4 to the start-finish line on the last lap — for The Show. I just don’t want to do it the first 10 laps or whenever. I want to get at least that close to the finish before all hell breaks loose.”

That would be a great idea. I’m not saying that they should be allowed to just wreck each other on purpose, but you get people all around jockeying for position and you’re bound to have some wrecks and great action on the last lap. Hell, why not try it out for a couple races, before the chase of course; don’t want to knock anyone out of the championship run, unless it’s Jimmie Johnson.

Yesterday, Nascar announced that they have penalized Dale Earnhardt Jr and Casey Mears for their extra curricular activities after the Subway 500 Saturday night. Casey Mears caused Dale Earnhardt Jr. to spin out, there was definitely some contact, but, as you can see in the video below, Jr. was loose well before that. Still, Dale was upset with him and spun Casey out on the cool down lap, and Casey then drove around some cars to show Dale his displeasure with him.

Nascar has placed both of them on probation for six races beginning this weekend in Talladega, for violating Section 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock-car racing; hitting another competitor’s car after the race had concluded) of the 2009 NASCAR rule book. We know Dale won’t do anything there as he is always one of the top threats to win there and will certainly not want to take any chances on being removed from the race.

Tony Stewart won the Busch Nationwide race today in Daytona, beating Kyle Busch and, you guessed it, Dale Earnhardt Jr. at the end of the race, with Busch blocking Jr. to finish second. Kyle also came in second the night before in the truck series race, losing to Todd Bodine and driving past Johnny Benson for second. Appears tomorrow’s race is going to be a good one, with Kyle and Dale running so well every time they get in a car, they are going to be hard to beat.

Polesitter Tony Stewart repelled a strong challenge from teammate Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win the Camping World 300 Nationwide Series race Saturday at Daytona International Speedway.

Stewart surged to the lead on Lap 117 of 120 and stayed there as the rest of the field diced for position behind him. On the final lap, Busch blocked Earnhardt’s last-ditch attempt to improve his position and all but assured the victory for Stewart, who crossed the finish line .259 seconds ahead of Busch, with Earnhardt .412 seconds back.

Brian Vickers ran fourth, followed by Matt Kenseth, rookie Bryan Clauson, Greg Biffle, Denny Hamlin, David Ragan and defending series champion Carl Edwards. Source: Stewart starts, finishes first in N’wide season-opener

Talk about a strong start for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and an even stronger start for Hendrick Motorsports, Dale wins the shootout and then wins the first Gatorade Duel race today, and Jimmie Johnson has the pole for the Daytona 500. I wonder if all those people who said they would not root for Dale Jr. because he went to Hendrick Motorsports are regretting that decision now? Probably not, I bet they are already back on the bandwagon.

Denny Hamlin wins the first race for Toyota; you just knew it would be a Gibbs car, I mean, what has Waltrip and his bunch done with a year under their belts? I especially liked his little comment about Jeff Gordon hanging back on the restart, but it was fine for him to go to the back and block and weave in front of his teammates competitors to help them get in the 500. I bet Michael gets on your nerves when he’s drunk.

With a push from Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin won the second Gatorade Duel 150 qualifying race for Sunday’s Daytona 500 in a green-white-checkered-flag finish that took the event four laps beyond its posted distance. The victory for Toyota was the second for a foreign manufacturer in NASCAR’s top series. Jaguar driver Al Keller won a road-course race in Linden, N.J., in 1954.

In the first Duel 150, Dale Earnhardt Jr. passed Ryan Newman for the lead on Lap 51 of 60 and held on for the win — his second in two races for Hendrick Motorsports.

But the story of Thursday was the success of three veteran drivers — Dale Jarrett, Kenny Wallace and John Andretti — who persevered to make the field. Source: Earnhardt Jr., Hamlin win qualifying races at Daytona

A total of ten cars changed engines before the duel races, including all four Hendrick cars, so I was not too excited about Gordon’s chances, but only Dave Blaney had engine trouble during the races. This will be the first time the Daytona 500 has been run without a car from the Wood Bros.

I did not know you could do this though:

“It’s too early to diagnose the problem,” said Busch, who gave up the owner points on his No. 2 Dodge to guarantee rookie teammate Sam Hornish Jr. starting spots in the first five races of 2008.

I wonder why you don’t hear about it happening more often on teams with the really good drivers who make every race on speed, but it is only for the first five races.

Gatorade Duel 1 Unofficial Results
Gatorade Duel 2 Unofficial Results

Here’s how they will start for the Daytona 500:

1 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s 187.075 48.109 Leader
2 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA AUTO PARTS 186.734 48.197 -0.088
3 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet AMP Energy / National Guard - - -
4 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Express - - -
5 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Target - - -
6 20 Tony Stewart Toyota The Home Depot - - -
7 12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL - - -
8 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont - - -
9 5 Casey Mears Chevrolet Kellogg’s / CARQUEST - - -
10 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Budweiser - - -
11 99 Carl Edwards Ford Office Depot - - -
12 8 Mark Martin Chevrolet U.S. Army - - -
13 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cheerios / Betty Crocker - - -
14 6 David Ragan Ford AAA - - -
15 42 Juan Montoya Dodge Texaco / Havoline - - -
16 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil - - -
17 187 Kenny Wallace Chevrolet Furniture Row
/ DenverMattress.com - - -
18 16 Greg Biffle Ford 3M - - -
19 77 Sam Hornish Jr.* Dodge Mobil 1 - - -
20 44 Dale Jarrett Toyota UPS - - -
21 15 Paul Menard Chevrolet PEAK / Menards - - -
22 34 John Andretti Chevrolet Makoto - - -
23 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull - - -
24 18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M’s - - -
25 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker - - -
26 7 Robby Gordon Dodge Jim Beam - - -
27 66 Scott Riggs Chevrolet State Water Heaters - - -
28 17 Matt Kenseth Ford DEWALT - - -
29 01 Regan Smith* Chevrolet Principal Financial Group - - -
30 28 Travis Kvapil Ford K&N Filters - - -
31 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Jack Daniel’s - - -
32 38 David Gilliland Ford FreeCreditReport.com - - -
33 70 Jeremy Mayfield Chevrolet Junior Johnson’s Midnight Moon - - -
34 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar - - -
35 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Best Buy - - -
36 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility - - -
37 96 J.J. Yeley Toyota DLP HDTV - - -
38 26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal Cask No. 16 - - -
39 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Wells Fargo - - -
40 40 Dario Franchitti* Dodge Dodge Journey - - -
41 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Furniture Row Racing - - -
42 00 David Reutimann Toyota Aaron’s Dream Machine - - -
43 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite Champion’s Provisional

Did Not Qualify
44 84 A.J. Allmendinger Toyota Red Bull - - -
45 21 Bill Elliott Ford Little Debbie - - -
46 49 Ken Schrader Dodge HealthLife.com - - -
47 160 Boris Said Ford 7-Eleven Slurpee / No Fear - - -
48 10 Patrick Carpentier* Dodge Valvoline - - -
49 137 Eric McClure Chevrolet Hefty - - -
50 109 Sterling Marlin Chevrolet Miccosukee Resort & Gaming - - -
51 27 Jacques Villeneuve* Toyota Bill Davis Racing - - -
52 150 Stanton Barrett Chevrolet NOS Energy Drink / SKI / SBM - - -
53 08 Carl Long Dodge MILLSTAR Tools / Rhino’s Energy Drink

Here are links to all of the latest published Dale Earnhardt Jr. Videos.

Looks like Budweiser will not be the sponsor of Dale Jr’s car at Hendrick motorpsorts, as Hendrick already has sponsors in place for next season. Dale Jr did says he remains committed to Budweiser for the rest of the season and will continue to make it his beer of choice.

New team. New sponsor. Indeed 2008 will be a new beginning for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Hendrick Motorsports on Friday announced that contractual commitments to existing sponsors will preclude Budweiser from continuing as primary sponsor of the car driven by Earnhardt when he joins the organization next season.

“We have agreements in place with sponsors for the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, which prevent us from having a relationship with Budweiser,” team owner Rick Hendrick said.

“Honoring our commitments is important to us. The trade-off is missing an opportunity to bring Budweiser, a marquee brand synonymous with NASCAR and its fans, into the fold.” Source: Hendrick: Junior will have new sponsor next season

ESPN.com has said that Budweiser will remain a sponsor and are pursuing Evernham Motorsports driver Kasey Kahne and his number 9 Dodge.

It’s official, Dale Earnhardt Jr announced today that he is going to drive the 5 car for Hendrick Motorsports starting in 2008, putting an end to the wondering, although, there are lots of people who are not surprised, many of Dale Jr’s fans will not be happy. I saw many posts from fans saying they will not root for a Hendricks car ever. So, looks like they are going to be limited to Martin Truex Jr or maybe Kyle Busch, if a driver swap is really what is happening, as was thought yesterday, or many could go back to the guy who took Dale Earnhardt’s place, Kevin Harvick.

Here is the video from Nascar of him making the announcement, Dale Earnhardt Jr. to Hendrick Motorsports. More videos below.

When he first decided to move on from DEI, he wanted to go to somewhere he could win championships, and in his announcement he said he found that man and he introduced Rick Hendrick. This puts to rest a lot of the speculation on where he was going, and am sure it removes a lot of pressure from Jr, but it probably added a bunch to him as well. What will his fans think? What if he still doesn’t win a championship? There are many things he will be thinking about over the course of the rest of this year. I am sure some of the fans will be mad, but if you are a true Dale Jr fan, you should be happy he is going somewhere that will give him the equipment and tools that he needs, if not, then maybe they are really Dale Sr fans and maybe it is time for some to move on, especially if they are going to hate racing or Dale from now on.

Still no official word on where Kyle Busch will go, and no official word on what is going to happen to the Budweiser sponsorship, Budweiser said they wanted to stay with Jr, but I believe their contract with DEI is not up until 2008. It is believed the Dale will keep the Kellogs sponsorship, at least for next year. Then I can see Budweiser signing on, if Dale wins a championship, then I am sure his fanbase will only get larger and not smaller because of this move. Good luck Dale, your going to need it.

Here are some more videos from Dale Earnhardt Jr’s press conference today, hosted at Nascar.com.

Hendrick: It’s a ‘wow’ day Rick Hendrick says signing Dale Earnhardt Jr. is something he and his son Ricky had envisioned years ago.

Junior relieved, excited to join HMS With the goal of winning championships, Junior says he feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders by joining HMS.

A surreal experience Junior comments on what it was like being recruited by the icons of the sport.

Hendrick vows to help Junior reach his goals Rick Hendrick says he wants to support Dale Earnhardt Jr. in his goal of winning a NASCAR championship.

Junior on Hendrick and other teams Junior on Hendrick and other teams he viewed as competition at DEI.