Marketing Issues Underlie Junior’s Negotiations With DEI

Source Estimates Dale Jr.’s Value To DEI At $100M

If DEI Owner Teresa Earnhardt sells majority ownership of the NASCAR team, “all current sponsor contracts are voided, meaning the new ownership would either have to renegotiate them or they would simply end,” according to sources cited by Marty Smith of ESPN.com. But if Dale Earnhardt Jr. took control of the company, “that would be moot.” A source said, “If Junior leaves, it probably devalues DEI by $100[M]” (ESPN.com, 4/25). Smith said Earnhardt Jr.’s negotiating team imposed a late May deadline in contract negotiations with DEI “for merchandising purposes. In order to have merchandise at Daytona in February, all the approvals -– from the sponsors, drivers and teams — have to be done by August at the very latest, and July is much better” (“NASCAR Now,” ESPN2, 4/25).

WELCOME TO THE SHOW: One “high-ranking member of a title-contending” NASCAR team said of Toyota’s entry into Nextel Cup, “Toyota has money, but they just don’t have good race teams. When they came into the series, all the good teams ... were already committed to manufacturers, so Toyota had to pick from the bottom of the barrel. ... [Michael] Waltrip’s is a start-up, (Team) Red Bull is a start-up, and Bill Davis Racing has never done anything of note.” But SI’s Lars Anderson writes there is “a belief among all the Toyota teams that they’re close to competing for a win –-possibly as soon as” the May 27 Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway (SI, 4/30 issue).

IN HER SHOES: A NASCAR women’s designer shoe line from Beverly Hills-based Genius Fashion debuts next month at Belk’s and will also be available at zappos.com and NASCAR.com. The company said its shoes, which range from $69-250, offer “distinctive hints of the racing culture, such as tire treads on the soles of the shoe, and small checkered flags on some designs” (AP, 4/24).