Dale Earnhardt Jr. responds to the comments made last month by his stepmother and CEO of Dale Earnhardt Inc., Teresa Earnhardt, that begged the question "Where's your head at?" and addresses other nagging questions.
Quoting this...
"I was surprised to read that in the article about the new
president. I really didn't know if she got taken out of
context. I haven't talked to her personally about it. It's quite
interesting to read everybody else's take on it.
On their relationship: "We'll go three months without talking, without seeing
each other. We're cordial. It's not as people would assume. I think
everybody's always had this idea that we were very negative to each
other.
"Five or six years ago — when Dad was alive — we didn't really
discuss anything business-wise. I talked to Dad
about the race teams and racing and talked to Teresa about personal
stuff, like 'Hey, I'm going to buy a boat. What does that entail?' She
knew about stuff like that. Now, she's the owner and I've got to talk
to her about race teams and race cars and what I expect out of her
efforts and the company."
On Teresa's priorities: "When you go into her office and there are stacks of paper, most of
it is dealing with my father and whatever they're doing with his name
and whatnot. So, we don't talk a lot. We don't
have a lot of sit-downs about racing and the team and ownership and
stuff because that's not at the top of her list."
On driving for Richard Childress: "That keeps coming up. Ever since I started
driving under a contract, it's something that would come up every time
we get toward the end of a deal. If I get an opportunity to drive for
Richard in the twilight of my career, if he's still interested, that
would be awesome.
"Right now, I want to drive for my father's company and drive the
No. 8 Bud car. That's what I do. That's what I'm known for and how I
want things to be."
On the question of his commitment: "As a driver over the last several years, I've faced scrutiny and question marks about my determination and where my true passion lies. It didn't really bother me that bad. Everybody's always wondered exactly what my dedication level was and how passionate about driving I was.
"My dad had his style. He set a high bar with the way he drove and how he felt about racing. He pretty much wore it on his sleeve. When I first started, it was 'Whatever, man. If this doesn't work out I'll go back to working on cars at the dealership.' ... Each year, that determination and how much it really mattered got more powerful. This last season I feel like (that determination) was equal to anybody in
this sport. I finally got to that level where it matters to me as much as anybody else."
USA Today - Jan. 7, 2007
USA Today - Max Siegel was abducted at 5 with his little sister by a father who convinced the two their mother was dead. He didn't find out otherwise until he was reunited with his mother at 12 after his father died of cancer.
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