Prediction for Dale, Jr.

XEKE.com doesn't have an extensive history of NASCAR coverage and comment, and this is not intended to be the start of any ongoing NASCAR analysis, however, given the events that have transpired over the past week in the NASCAR world, XEKE.com wants to go on record with the following prediction.

Junior is now set up for success.

To anyone who is a NASCAR fan or who has stumbled across ESPN at any point this past week, the news of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. announcing his departure from DEI is nothing new. It is clear that DEI had offered nothing to Junior over the past three to four years in the way of making competitive cars or surrounding him with competitive racecar drivers or crews. His exit will leave the team with nothing in the way of star power, and very little to attract new, good drivers to the team. In a nutshell, DEI is set up for failure.

Junior, on the other hand, is now set up for success. He'll get picked up by Hendrick or Childress or Ginn, and any of these teams will provide him with the opportunity to win races and contend for the Nextel Cup. You think he's big-time now? Wait for it.

This leads me to my prediction. After Dale, Jr. has had a run of success, he'll look back at his "daddy's company," see its years of failure, and be offered a contract to come back to DEI and fix the mess that Teresea Earnhardt oversaw. Junior will be the savior of DEI, bring his money to the team, and finally be given the control of DEI that he sought from the beginning, bolstering the memory of his father (if it can be bolstered any further) and cementing the legacy of Little E.

If you're looking to pin XEKE.com down on a time-frame, I’ll say 4-6 years. (You've got to give me some wriggle-room.)

Go 48!

5/12/2007