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Last month, the most popular NASCAR driver today announced that he will be leaving his father’s team at the end of the season. Dale Earnhardt Jr., voted as the most popular NASCAR driver today by fans, publicized that he will be leaving the Dale Earnhardt Inc. after the 2007 Nextel Cup Series. The NASCAR team was put up by his late father - the legendary seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt Sr.

After the announcement, the NASCAR community has been speculating which team Junior will be racing for next year. For weeks, fans of the superstar have waited for his decision. Recently, he announced that he will be racing for Hendrick Motorsports next year.

With Junior joining Hendrick Motorsports, he will replace Kyle Busch. For the next season, Junior will still be driving a Chevy which is currently dominating the Nextel Cup Series. Chevrolet cars with their Chevy door handles shaved have already won ten of the fourteen races so far this season.

Brian France, son of the late Bill France, the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of NASCAR, has this to say of Junior’s jump to Hendrick: “Today’s announcement of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s move to Hendrick Motorsports is indeed an important announcement for this season and beyond, and it should be noted that high-profile partnerships have always been a part of NASCAR’s competitive history. There have been so many great partnerships involving people of great character and ability. We’re proud of what they have brought to our sport. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has always said that first and foremost, he wants to win a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series championship. We wish him the best of luck.”

There are questions surrounding his sponsorship with Budweiser. The company has been the most notable supporter of the 34-year old NASCAR driver. Tony Ponturo, the Vice-President for Global Media and Sports Marketing for Anheuser-Busch Inc., has this to say after Junior’s announcement: “Anheuser-Busch has enjoyed a remarkable relationship with Dale Earnhardt Jr. since our sponsorship commenced back in 1999. Dale Jr. is an excellent ambassador for the sport and our company, and we look forward to exploring options with Hendrick Motorsports and JR Motorsports to continue Budweiser’s relationship with him as he enters this new stage of his racing career.”

Ironically, Junior will be joining the team which knocked off his father from the top spot of the motorsports in the 1990s. His new teammate Jeff Gordon led the uprising of young drivers which took the place of Dale Earnhardt Sr. and his contemporaries at the pinnacle of the sport. Aside from Gordon, Junior will be joining defending champion Jimmie Johnson and Casey Mears.

Analysts saw the jump to Hendrick by Junior as an excellent decision. Tim Brewer, an analyst for ESPN, says: “I think it’s a great decision because he wants to go and win races and win championships. He’s going to make the change for himself, get in a good race car and he’ll get the job done. He’s been saying all along that he really wants to drive the No. 3 car at the end of his career so I think that’s the reason he didn’t go to Richard Childress yet. They are proven winners and proven champions at Hendrick. The combination he’s had hasn’t been working, and that’s no disrespect to anyone. If I were him I would show up, not even take my helmet, and just ask ‘which car do you want me to get in?’ If I’d implemented a change and gone this far, I believe I’d make a big change.”