Gordon thinks Junior will leave DEI

UPDATE Dale Earnhardt Jr. says that ownership in Dale Earnhardt Inc. is still the prevailing issue in his contract negotiations with the company his father founded. Speaking at NASCAR Media Day on Thursday, Earnhardt Jr. said that he wanted majority ownership in the team owned and operated by his stepmother, Teresa. Asked if he wanted more than 50 percent ownership, Earnhardt Jr. said, "Absolutely." "The main factor is the ownership part," Earnhardt Jr. said. "It has nothing to do with money and nothing else, really. I really like my team. … Everything is on the upswing. But my father has been gone for five, six years now, and I want majority ownership."

01/25/07 Jeff Gordon believes it will be hard for Dale Earnhardt Jr. to stay with his late father's company because of the public battle between the driver and his stepmother. Junior is in the final year of his contract at Dale Earnhardt Inc., and negotiations on a new deal recently exposed the difficult relationship he shares with Teresa Earnhardt. She recently questioned his commitment in a Wall Street Journal article, which angered NASCAR's most popular driver.

As the sides now try to pull their contract talks in-house, Gordon said Wednesday that it may be too late.

"I think that if he's smart, he'll do what's best for him and I hope that's at DEI, I really do," Gordon said during a press event for Hendrick Motorsports. "Is that reality? I think it's gone too far. When it gets ugly in the media, it's usually very, very difficult to rebound from that." More at Winston Salem Journal