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HMS & DEJ - Who wants who...

Joined
May 29, 2002
Messages
8,695
Location
Missoura Ozarks
Corvette
2012 💯 4LT GS Roadster

As you can see, even when HMS pulled off the unprecedented 1-2-3 finish in '09, Junior's team was lagging badly behind in 25th. All four teams have won races in the same year -- it happened most recently in '07 -- but there's a difference between someone getting a lucky, fuel mileage victory, such as Casey Mears in the Coke 600 that year and Jeff Gordon winning 10 races and scoring 30 top-10 finishes. Clearly, it's hard to argue that HMS equipment has been consistent across the board, the 24/48 shop clearly outperforming their 5/88 (and formerly 5/25) counterparts virtually every season since Johnson revitalized that part of the program.

Which brings me to a certain Dale Earnhardt Jr. Let's say a nightmare scenario develops, one where moving into Johnson's shop does nothing to increase the Most Popular Driver's level of success. He ends the year 20th in points, winless while the other three HMS teams make the Chase and contend for the championship. Fifty feet away, his stablemate, Johnson, ends up winning a sixth straight title and seven races on the year. What do you do if you're Earnhardt's primary sponsors, AMP and National Guard? Would you sit there, knowing the price tag is bigger than virtually any other driver in the sport, and siphon money to a team that seems destined to always be a step behind the curve?

The answer, to me, seems obvious. But those sponsors also know they won't get the same marketing bang for their buck out of, say, a Greg Biffle, whose fans are outnumbered by the Junior lovers 10 to 1. When you look at it that way, they could end up with a large degree of say in this process as well, as Earnhardt has a good relationship with both and those companies could see greater value in aligning with another top-notch team to switch up the chemistry.

So, to answer your question, of course Hendrick is going to want to sign Junior from a business standpoint. The money from those sponsors can help the organization as a whole, and why would you not want the most marketable driver in the fold? Heck, Kyle Petty was able to keep driving for 13 years after winning his last race, a famous last name good enough to keep his job despite lackluster results. Ultimately, though, Earnhardt's desire to return to championship contention combined with a sponsor's wish to do the same may prove the ultimate trump card.

SI.com
 

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