But rather than retaliate, Earnhardt Jr. has chosen his words carefully and not gotten into a war of words with ownership.
"I tried to do good and stay professional in my comments," Earnhardt said. "I tried to portray my feelings to [the media] but try to keep the bitterness out of it. At times, you get bitter. But being the younger guy in the whole mess, I tried to stay professional.
"I've actually taken a lot of that stuff to help form my position and opinion. You don't like public opinion or media opinion to sway your decisions, but in this case, I have a real bad habit of being way too modest about my position in the sport. And a lot of people, including the media, helped me understand what I'm actually worth."
The sudden realization of his status in the sport has helped Junior -- who, along with his sister, does most of his own negotiating -- understand what his worth is to not just DEI, but to NASCAR.
"When we go do stuff like the Jay-Z deal and I'm sitting there in awe like 'How in the hell did I get here?' and 'Why am I here?' people around me all the time have to remind me of the magnitude of me and my sister, they're like, 'they want you to come to the ESPYs to present.'
"I'm freaked out and scared to death to go do it, or go be on Jay Leno. And they say, 'You've got to get more confidence because you're that dude -- you deserve to be on that stage.' And I don't see it that way. So when ... you guys write about the position and the leverage that I have, it sort of helps me understand what my sister and all these people have been trying to explain to me these five or six years."
So the ball is now back in DEI's court with Teresa Earnhardt and Max Siegel, the newly appointed president of global operations, faced with the biggest decision in the company's history:
Either give up a large portion of the company or watch NASCAR's premier superstar drive out the door and face the prospect of Dale Earnhardt Inc. without Dale Earnhardt Jr.
What would that mean?
Leave it to Tony Stewart to sum it up.
"DEI without Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a museum," said Smoke.
