Honorable Mention – Dale Earnhardt Jr joins Hendrick Motorsports.
In one of the most memorable moves in recent history, NASCAR’s most popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jr announced during the 2007 season that he was leaving Dale Earnhardt Incorporated to pursue other options.
Earnhardt had been driving for the team his father built since his NASCAR career began back in 1996. Earnhardt had a lot of success driving for the organization. He won two NASCAR Busch Series championships in 1998 and 1999 and moved to the Cup Series full-time in the 2000 season. Earnhardt had a great rookie season, winning two races and finishing second in the Rookie of the Year voting to Matt Kenseth.
Dale Earnhardt Incorporated would change forever on February 18, 2001 when team owner and NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt was killed on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. The team would be ran by Earnhardt’s wife Tersea from that point forward. The organization was still able to find success through the 2004 season, including a six win season in 2004 which saw Earnhardt Jr narrowly miss the championship.
After losing the championship in 2004 things began to fall apart for Dale Earnhardt Incorporated and Dale Earnhardt Jr. The team would win just two races over the next three seasons and rumors began to swirl that Earnhardt Jr wanted to buy his father’s race team and have a partnership with his step-mother Teresa. The deal never materialized and Earnhardt was NASCAR’s hottest free agent entering the 2008 season.
Rumors began early that Earnhardt, a avid Washington Redskins fan, would like to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing. Those rumors were quickly shot down after JGR announced they were moving to Toyota for 2008. Earnhardt, a loyal driver to Chevrolet, was no longer a fit for the organization.
Then it became clear that Kyle Busch would not return to Hendrick Motorsports for the 2008 season. Busch, a 22 year old driver who wore his passion on his sleeve, was young but at the time an unproven driver. He had won just four races in those seasons and the possibility of Earnhardt becoming a driver at Hendrick Motorsports became more likely.
On June 13th, 2007 it was announced that Earnhardt would join the Hendrick Motorsports stable and with the announcement, paired one of NASCAR’s best drivers with it’s top race team. It looked like a match made in Heaven.
However, Earnhardt struggled in his first four years at Hendrick Motorsports winning just one race and finishing in the top ten in points just once. There was no doubt changes needed to be made.
Changes were made prior to the 2011 season and Earnhardt was now paired with crew chief Steve Letarte. Letarte and Earnhardt hit it off and the results improve dramatically. Since the change to Letarte Earnhardt has made the Chase every season and in 2014 won his second Daytona 500. He also won four races in 2014, marking his highest total since 2004.
Meanwhile, Dale Earnhardt Incorporated was in operation for just one more season before the team merged with Chip Ganassi Racing prior to the 2009 season to form Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing. In 2014, team owner Chip Ganassi announced that the Earnhardt name would be dropped from the team marking the official end of Dale Earnhardt Incorporated.
Earnhardt replaced Kyle Busch at Hendrick Motorsports who went on to have a stellar career at Joe Gibbs Racing. Busch has had a ton of success in his seven years with the team winning 25 races, which is in the top five in NASCAR during that time period.
The only thing holding this move back is the lack of consistency in Earnhardt’s first four years at Hendrick Motorsports.
Next: Legends on the move