Things That Make You Go Hmm...

Originally Posted on Foxsports.com on June 12, 2007.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is having a press conference tomorrow. Widespread speculation is that he will announce what team he will be driving for next year.

News reports cite anonymous sources that claim Junior is going to Hendrick, and Kyle Busch is being bounced to ... DEI. The press reports that Gibbs denies involvement in the press conference, and Richard Childress is out of the country. Hendrick declines to comment on the story.

There are several things about this story that make me wonder:

1. Didn't Junior just claim last week that things had slowed down due to the death of Bill France Jr? I know that if I were constantly badgered about a story, I'd probably say things were slow too, even if they weren't. But was this deal cut over the casket at the funeral or what?

2. Hasn't Junior had other press conferences for things like, say his Busch team? To my knowledge, he didn't specify what this one was about.

3. Didn't Hendrick just announce there was no room at the inn? Was this secret code to Kyle Busch to sign the damn contract already, or don't let the door hit you on the way out? I'm no Busch fan, but he has won several races, and he is very young. Hendrick stuck with him through a lot. Is this still fall out from Busch leaving the track when his team was frantically working on his car? And which Junior happened to be available to drive?

4. Wouldn't it just be like Richard Childress (or Dale Earnhardt for that matter) to fly in to town at the last minute for the press conference? And didn't Jeff Burton mention that RCR was going to 4 cars last week?

5. Would Junior really want to go to Hendrick, where he will be the third driver on the totum pole? Gordon will always be the top cat, and Jimmie Johnson is a champion as well. Junior brings with him sponsors and fans, but he'll probably never be the #1 driver there. Then again, maybe he doesn't want to be the #1 driver...

6. Would Junior want to go to RCR? That's a big step back into his father's shadow, and not very far out of his step-mother's shadow. Especially with the merged motor program.

7. Why hasn't anyone talked to Ginn about the press conference?

8. Would Junior want to go to Gibbs? Tony is a 2x champion, and Denny Hamlin is the young gun. He'd fit in, if it just wasn't for that sponsorship problem.

9. Does this mean Kurt Busch pimps Miller Lite and Kyle Busch pimps Bud?

10. Would Junior get the Kelloggs sponsorship? Or where would they go? National Guard just came on board at Hendrick... Would Kelloggs go with Kyle?

11. Didn't these same sources tell us that Kurt Busch would be parked for Pocono due to the pit road flare-up?

12. Didn't these same sources COMPLETELY miss the Kurt Busch move to Penske in August 2005?

Sigh... I guess we'll have to wait until tomorrow to answer these questions...