Sponsor's concerns limit Junior's non-Cup racing
Earnhardt Jr. doesn't like limitations placed on him, other drivers
By David Newton, NASCAR.COM
June 4, 2006
01:33 PM EDT (17:33 GMT)
DOVER, DEL. -- There's a reason Dale Earnhardt Jr. doesn't run more races outside the Nextel Cup Series.
His primary sponsor won't let him.
Discussing the injury risk when drivers take their Cup careers outside the series -- as reigning champion Tony Stewart did in the Busch Series last week at Lowe's Motor Speedway -- Earnhardt said Budweiser has the first say.
"I got a deal where I can only run X amount [outside Cup] a month,'' Earnhardt said as he prepared for Sunday's Cup race at Dover International Speedway. "They want the consistency for the fans seeing me in a red car.
"They really don't want to see me in a Taco Bell or KFC car. Bud would rather have me in a red Bud Car. That's why I don't really get the opportunity to run more than I want.''
Earnhardt said the clause was in his contract before he suffered severe burns in 2004 while driving a Corvette in a road race at Sonoma, Calif.
"That's the Bud side of it, which is understandable,'' said Earnhardt, whose performance suffered for several races while the burns healed. "I'd like to drive my own Busch cars, but I don't know if that's possible through your commitments to DEI. You get yourself in a couple of spider webs and it's hard to get out of 'em.''
Earnhardt doesn't like the limitations. He doesn't think any driver, including Stewart, should be told what to do with free time.
"We do have a responsibility to show up and drive Cup cars every week,'' he said. "As a businessman, you've got a responsibility to show up and make sure you're on time for your job.
"At the same time, who is anybody to tell Tony Stewart what to do with his time? If he wants to race, he should race. If he wants to fly a kite, he can fly a kite. I mean, whatever he wants to do, he ought to be able to make that choice himself.''
Points leader Jimmie Johnson agreed. At the same time, Johnson needs written permission from Hendrick Motorsports and Lowe's before driving outside of Cup.
"The thing that makes us drivers who we are and perfect our skills is the fact that we're in cars,'' Johnson said. "Then on top of that, in different cars. Everything that I've done in race cars has taught me a lot.
"It's that whole balance of what the car owner and sponsor are willing to risk, if they're willing to allow you to go out and risk injury, if they're willing to let you be yourself and do your thing. Drivers, we just want to drive anything that has wheels on it.''
But injuries such as the one that will force Stewart to turn his car over to relief driver Ricky Rudd early in Sunday's race makes some think twice about racing outside of Cup.
"You just have to think about it,'' Kasey Kahne said. "You don't want to put yourself in a bad position. Obviously, as a driver you're always trying to win, so sometimes it's hard not to put yourself in a bad position.''
Kahne said he plans to race Sprint cars later this season and reminded he raced at the Chili Bowl earlier this year when Stewart suffered a rib injury after flipping his midget car.
"Things happen,'' Kahne said. "You hate it happens, but things do happen. Hopefully, Tony is done getting hurt."
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