It's Official: Junior Chooses Hendrick

Mooresville, NC (Sports Network) - On Wednesday, Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced that he would sign to drive for Hendrick Motorsports in 2008. Earnhardt Jr., son of seven-time Nextel Cup champion Dale Earnhardt and the most popular driver in the series, has driven for the company his dad started, Dale Earnhardt Inc., since 1996. He has earned 17 wins and 114 top-10s in 269 Cup starts with DEI. He also won two Busch Series titles in 1998 and 1999. But after Dale Earnhardts tragic death in a last-lap crash at the 2001 Daytona 500, Teresa Earnhardt took over at DEI and the relationship between driver and stepmother/team owner has not been a smooth one. Over this past winter, "Junior" demanded that he be given 51-percent ownership in the company so that he could have control of the operations. The current management team headed by Teresa Earnhardt and Max Siegel balked at the idea and on May 10th the driver announced that he would leave DEI. Since then rumors as to his destination have been everywhere. The most popular idea is that he would drive for Richard Childress Racing, the same team his father drove for from 1981-2001 and won six championships. Another was that he might take his own JR Motorsports team which runs in the Busch Series and make it a Nextel Cup team. Other teams that have shown interest in Earnhardt Jr. included Ginn Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing. Interestingly, owner Rick Hendrick had said that he didnt have room for Earnhardt Jr. They had talked informally and Hendrick offered to supply "Juniors" Busch team with engines and chassis so they could go Cup racing. "We talked with many teams but one stood out above the rest," said Earnhardt Jr. "I feel like this decision will give me the opportunity to win and hopefully I can give the fans what they expect and deserve." Kyle Busch is the odd man out and the 2008 Hendrick Motorsports lineup will be Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Earnhardt Jr. and Casey Mears.