Post Happy Hour comments by Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the no. 8
Budweiser Chevrolet Monte Carlo 
Note: He was 2nd fast in the final
Happy Hour Practice -- The Fastest Chevrolet. 

REGARDING YOUR SEASON SO FAR,  IT'S NOT OVER UNTIL IT'S OVER, IS IT?

"I
hope not. We've got a lot of racing left. We really can't afford to think
that it's over. We've got to continue to try to accomplish what we can
week in and week out, and see if we can't make it a little more
interesting. There is always opportunity for us and unfortunate bad luck
for Matt (Kenseth) and an opportunity for us to gain points on him. So
we're just going to keep sticking it out and take advantage of any falter
he may have."

ON MATT KENSETH'S COMMENT ABOUT UPCOMING TRACKS WHERE DALE JR. EXCELLS

"Matt always says that and then he always finds a way to come up with
something that's salvageable and enjoyable. He says he doesn't enjoy the
plate tracks or doesn't run well on them, but he's always there at the
end with a good finish."

IS SUNDAY'S RACE AT MIS SHAPING UP TO BE A FUEL MILEAGE RACE OR A SPEED
& DOWNFORCE RACE?

"Well, I hope it's just a 'Dale Jr. out front all day'
race. That would be my kind of race (laughs). It could be one or the
other. It depends on how the cautions fall. That's always been the case
this year."

HOW IS YOUR CAR?

"Our Chevy was really good in that second practice. We
had some stuff on there that wasn't working right (in the first practice)
and we put the old stuff on there and it went right back to where it
should have been running."

RELATIVE TO YOUR CONTRACT WITH DEI, HOW IMPORTANT IS TEAM OWNERSHIP TO
YOU?

"It's not a big deal to me. I never said it was a big deal to me.
There are other things in the contract. I haven't talked to Teresa
(Earnhardt) one on one. So I don't know what certain aspects we need to
sit down and discuss yet. So I can't say what is holding the process up."

WHERE DID THIS OWNERSHIP RUMOR COME FROM?

"I don't know. I guess people
were speculating on the (contract) hold up or what could be the
situations of disagreement or circumstances that need to be compromised
in the contract between me and Teresa (Earnhardt). I guess that was one
of the things that people thought might be my interest but it's really
not. I don't really find interest in ownership at this particular time."

"I enjoy the Busch Series team that I have and I'm only 50% owner in
that. But it's fun and I'm learning as far as that goes. That'll be the
experience that will tell me whether I want to have anything to do with
ownership down the road. Right now, this is enough. I haven't even gotten
to where I want to be as a race car driver. I've got a long way to go as
a race car driver. Ownership is just way, way out of the picture right
now."

ARE YOU SURPRISED THAT THIS CONTRACT ISSUE IS GOING ON RIGHT NOW? THE
MEDIA THOUGHT THIS WAS SIGNED AND OVER WITH LAST JANUARY?

"I knew it
was going on and we just didn't particularly have any interest in sharing
information with anybody. But you know me when I'm asked a question. I
can't help but give an honest answer."

DID THAT GET YOU IN TROUBLE?

"Well, it looked a little poorly upon
myself. And it did put the company in a little bit of a strain.  We're
trying to seek sponsors for the No. 1 Chevrolet and we don't need any
mysteries about what I was going to be doing next year. My initiative it
to try to find sponsors for the No. 1 car and try to put a driver and a
team together on every level of that company that can run good. So my
interests are very similar to the ownership side of it. And I want to
drive well for my Bud car. I really enjoy those guys and I'm having a
great time. I never thought about it. I entertained the idea for driving
for somebody. You always do that. You daydream about everything in the
sport. But it was never anything I ever thought would be a reality."

"But on the other side of that, I'm definitely out to get what I feel
like I deserve. As sure as everybody can be about me driving the No. 8
car for as long as I drive, I'm not going to do it for free. I would
expect to get paid and get compensated as I would for anywhere else in
this business."

HAS THIS STIRRED UP A LOT MORE STUFF THAN YOU THOUGHT IT WOULD?

"It
certainly did. But maybe it bumped it all up to priority in some people's
minds. Every once in a while, you guys (the media) come in pretty handy
(laughs)."

YOU AND TONY STEWART ARE GOING THROUGH THE SAME THING RIGHT NOW. IS PART
OF YOUR GOAL TO MAKE SURE THE TOP DRIVERS IN THIS SPORT ARE PAID BETTER -
LIKE OTHER ATHLETES?

"We make good money. We make plenty to live the
lifestyle we want to live. There is a lot of money in this sport and much
of it doesn't go to the drivers and they put on the show. So that can get
frustrating sometimes. But again, you've got to look back at who you are,
where you came from, who you want to be, and how you want to live."

"I've got plenty of money to do what I want to do and to live like I want
to live. I'm really not out there buying yachts and airplanes, so I don't
need to worry about those types of things. But as sponsor money
increases, I'm sure the driver's salary and crew members and crew chiefs
salaries always will increase as well. I drove that Busch Series car in
1998 for $350 week. So I've always been underpaid - I don't know what it
is (laughs)."

DOES IT SURPRISE YOU HOW BIG THIS CONTRACT ISSUE HAS BECOME?

"Well,
it's nice to have a little leverage. I've been without leverage for a
long time and it's nice to have leverage."

IS BUDWEISER A PART OF THIS, OR ARE THEY ALREADY SIGNED WITH DEI?

"I
feel like me and Budweiser have a great understanding that we're going to
be partners for a long time."

HOW ABOUT BUDWEISER AND DEI - ARE THEY SIGNED?

"Budweiser of course, in
doing the smart thing, is going to wait until our issues are secured
until they can sign an extension. They want to definitely know that
everything is in place. They're like everyone else - including the press
- and everybody else out in the public. They don't know the whole story.
And (they) don't really know my true feelings. If they did, I feel like
everybody would just calm down about it. My mind and my heart are in
driving the No. 8 car and it always has been."



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