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Wicked World: Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Step Mother Plotting Mind Games Against the Earnhardt Over Disputes
Wicked World: Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Step Mother Plotting Mind Games Against the Earnhardt Over Disputes
At one point, Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI) was a powerhouse in NASCAR, especially dominant at restrictor plate tracks like Daytona and Talladega. However, after the passing of Dale Earnhardt Sr, the ownership, shocking many, went to his widow, Teresa Earnhardt, instead of his children, Dale Earnhardt Jr and Kelly Earnhardt.
When Dale Jr decided to leave DEI due to disagreements, primarily due to ownership issues, with his stepmother, Teresa reportedly said, “If Dale Jr doesn’t want to stick around here we’ll make another Dale Jr.” She didn’t pass anything on to Dale Jr, and it seems like even now, she might still be causing trouble for her stepchildren. But what exactly is the new thing she has come up with this time?
Teresa Earnhardt hasn’t stopped giving Dale Earnhardt Jr and his family a hard time
The very public tug-of-war over DEI between Teresa Earnhardt and Dale Jr not only led to the downfall of Earnhardt Sr’s cherished racing team, but also sparked a huge fuss. This was especially evident when a Budweiser ad meant to honor Dale Jr conspicuously left out the #8, leading fans to suspect Teresa was blocking its use—since DEI held the trademark rights to both the #8 and #1.
Fast forward to now, and the #8 car, famously driven by Dale Earnhardt, is caught in trademark limbo yet again. If you look up the trademark status for #8, you’ll find that the last day to file for renewal with an additional fee is June 3, 2024. Yet, there’s no move to renew it. Given the typical timing for these processes, this should’ve been handled months ago, like it was with the #1. But as it stands, no steps have been taken to renew it as the final deadline approaches.
It might just be that Teresa Earnhardt is playing games with everyone because if there’s anyone who knows how to hold a grudge as well as Dale Jr, it’s probably her. After all the drama with Dale Jr, Ty Norris, and everything else at DEI, she might just wait until the last minute on June 2 or 3 to renew that trademark—just to show everyone who has the upper hand and say something like, “You thought it was yours? Think again!”
On the flip side, there’s a chance she might just let it lapse. Maybe she’ll let it go, and someone like Dale Jr or RCR will swoop in and snatch up the trademark. But given the bad blood since Dale Jr left the team in 2007, and the fact that they haven’t really talked since—something Dale Jr mentioned on his podcast—it’s likely she wouldn’t let it just slide without a fight. She’s probably not going to make it easy for him to take over that number.
These discussions are critical, especially since Dale Earnhardt Jr opened up back in 2007 about the significance of the number. He said, “We just wanted the number, but I was willing to give the number back when I was done driving. I wouldn’t have any use for it personally. I feel like it’s an Earnhardt tradition because my grandfather and my dad used it a little bit, too. I’m using it right now, and I figured that we would be able to keep using it. But unfortunately, we’re not going to be able to.“ It seems the ongoing feud might be the reason she’s unwilling to let it go.
However, this isn’t the first time Teresa Earnhardt has been in the spotlight this month. Previously, Dale Jr mentioned on his podcast that she even denied him access to something that belonged to his father, sparking quite a bit of buzz then, too.
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Max Verstappen has once again claimed that he is the target of ‘British bias’ in the media after watching the fallout from his battle with Lando Norris. The three-time world champion’s defending was criticised by a number of drivers, including Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen and Norris shared a titanic battle at the Circuit of the Americas last weekend, but the flashpoint came at Turn 12 as the Dutchman deployed a signature tactic, lunging deep into the corner to get to the apex first before running both himself and his title rival off the road.
Norris opted to keep his foot in and overtook the Red Bull driver around the outside, although this decision landed him a five-second time penalty that dropped him back behind Verstappen in the general classification. This sparked a major debate with other drivers – Hamilton included – calling for the FIA to take action and outlaw this style of defending.
Verstappen has been frustrated by this debate. Quizzed by Viaplay in Mexico on whether he’d like to see the rules changed, he replied: “No, not really. But I have the wrong passport.” Asked if he was referring to a British passport, he confirmed as much.
“Yeah, it’s the wrong country, on that aspect… with complaining” he replied. “I love my passport but on that aspect, I should have had a different passport, actually.” The Dutchman also complained of ‘British bias’ earlier this season following comments made by Adrian Newey.
When asked about the debate surrounding Verstappen’s on-track conduct, former title rival Hamilton was quick to point out that the Dutchman has been employing these tactics for some time, dating back to their no-punches-pulled fight in 2021.
“It’s always been a grey area, that’s why he’s got away with it for so long,” Hamilton explained ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix. “They probably need to make some adjustments for sure.
“Also, we do have inconsistencies through rulings, weekend in, weekend out, obviously depending on which years it is. I mean, as a sport, we do need to level up on all areas and if you look at other global sports, they have full-time refs, for example, and I’m sure that wouldn’t be a bad thing for our sport.
“I experienced it many times with Max, you shouldn’t be able to just launch the car on the inside and be ahead and then you go off and still hold your position. So, they need to definitely work on this.”
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$200M Jeff Gordon teams up with Chase Elliott and Co. to decode the HMS driver behind the “Don’t judge me” old tweet
Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon teamed up with Chase Elliott and other HMS drivers in a lighthearted fun exercise for fans where they attempted to solve the mystery behind an old tweet from their current driver.
The anonymous tweet reads, “Don’t judge me, but I can’t wait to see the new twilight movie haha,” and it’s believed to belong to one of the HMS’s driver lineups, which includes Elliott, Kyle Larson, William Byron and Alex Bowman.
Jeff Gordan, who has a net worth of $200 million (according to Celebrity Net Worth), and HMS drivers tried to guess, but none of them were correct. Bowman and Elliott named Byron, while Byron went with Elliott, but it was Larson. He accepted that it was his tweet in 2011 and revealed that he likes Catherine Hardwicke’s Twilight movie.
HMS shared the video of the fun investigative activity on Instagram with a caption:
“Hold on tight, spider monkey”
Watch the Jeff Gordon and HMS’s guesses below:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBjQ7EzP3A7/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=e5182e01-3688-440a-ae00-0bf669973e15&ig_mid=01331E07-1F15-4C86-B3DB-7587302F0125
Three out of four HMS drivers are still in contention for the 2024 NASCAR Cup championship. Larson and Byron are in good position in the playoffs points table, with 35 and 27 points above the cutline.
However, 2020 Cup champion Elliott is in danger of getting eliminated from title contention, as he’s 53 points behind the cutline heading to this weekend’s Homestead-Miami race.
In an interview with NBC Sports earlier this season, Jeff Gordon spoke about the competition between their two best drivers, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott, for the regular season championship. Gordan wanted to see both top drivers perform well and race aggressively against each other while maintaining sportsmanship in their chase for the regular season title.
However, neither Larson nor Elliott won the championship; it was Tyler Reddick who clinched the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series regular season championship. Speaking to NBC Sports, the four-time NASCAR Cup champion Jeff Gordon said:
“I think it’s pretty clear at Hendrick how we expect teams and drivers to race against one another and how they’ve got to go and compete not only against their competitors but against one another.
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“Kyle Busch is an a**”: Brad Keselowski publicly chastised his fierce NASCAR rival in front of over 150,000 spectators
Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski birthed one of the fiercest rivalries in NASCAR. The duo had multiple run-ins throughout their careers, but the seed of their feud was sown at the 2010 Xfinity Series race hosted by the Bristol Motor Speedway. In the aftermath, Keselowski publicly castigated Busch in front of over 150,000 fans during driver introductions.
Busch kicked off his Food City 250 from third place in his #18 Toyota while Keselowski began in 13th. However, as the 250-lap battle inched closer to its conclusion, the then-Penske Racing driver held the domination while the former #18 Joe Gibbs Racing driver fought hard for the lead.
After struggling to overtake for nearly a dozen laps, Busch, with 31 laps until the checkered flag dropped, lunged ahead of Keselowski, only to be wrecked from behind and lose the spot again.
However, the JGR driver quickly retaliated and spun out Keselowski’s #22 Dodge. The move propelled the #18 Toyota to the victory lane while the Penske driver fell from a potential win to settling in 14th place.
The bitter feeling inside Brad Keselowski surfaced during the Bristol Cup Series race driver introductions the following day. After Kyle Busch introduced himself, his fierce rival took the mic and blasted Busch with his “a**’ comment.
“Brad Keselowski, driver of the Penske Racing Dodge. Kyle Busch is an a**,” he said.
However, when asked why he slammed Busch, Keselowski said that Juan Pablo Montoya challenged that he can’t call the JGR driver an “a**”. It’s worth mentioning that the crowd’s roar on the Penske driver’s introduction notched 104.2 decibels.
“Sometimes you just don’t like a guy”: Kyle Busch publicly slams Brad Keselowski during their 2017 title fight
The bitter rivalry between Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski was such that both made unapologetic comments about the other from time to time. Despite the latter publicly extending an olive branch to the former in 2015, their relationship remained sour.
Max Verstappen addresses ‘British bias’ at Mexican GP after Lewis Hamilton put-down
$200M Jeff Gordon teams up with Chase Elliott and Co. to decode the HMS driver behind the “Don’t judge me” old tweet
