With Junior gone, DEI ready to being new era

Eighth in a series looking back on NASCAR teams' fortunes in 2007 and their prospects for 2008.

The late Dale Earnhardt founded DEI in 1999, and with the star-power of the famous name behind it, the team grew into one of NASCAR's major players. Dale Earnhardt Jr. began his Cup career in 2000 driving the Budweiser No. 8 Chevrolet, one of the most recognizable rides in NASCAR history. After Earnhardt Sr. died in 2001, his widow, Teresa, took over the reins of the team, which grew into a three-car stable and ended the 2007 season with 24 all-time wins in NASCAR's top division.

Season review

Martin Truex Jr. celebrates his win at the Nextel Open in May. (US Presswire)

DEI was a lightning rod for headlines, news and controversy in 2007. The often tumultuous relationship between Earnhardt Jr. and Teresa finally boiled over when Junior announced his intention to leave the team his father had built for him and move to another organization in 2008.

"After a year of intense negotiations and intense effort on behalf of Dale Earnhardt Inc. and JR Motorsports, we decided that it's time for us to move on and seek new opportunities to drive for a new team in 2008," Earnhardt Jr. said at the May press conference that set off a frenzy around the racing world.

"At 32 years of age, the same age as my father was when he made his final and most important career decision, it is the time for me to compete on a consistent basis and contend for championships now."

Within weeks, Earnhardt Jr. dropped another bombshell when he signed with Hendrick Motorsports, becoming part of a mega team that will include two-time champion Jimmie Johnson and four-time winner Jeff Gordon.

Junior's decision led DEI to complete a merger with Ginn Racing, a transaction that effectively added Mark Martin to its stable and expanded the team to a four-car effort with the veteran joining Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr. and Paul Menard.

But with all the off-track happenings, there was still the business of racing, and DEI experienced an up-and-down season to say the least.

The up saw Truex Jr., now thrust into the role of the team's lead driver, take the strides toward becoming a star many predicted after his back-to-back Busch Series titles. Truex Jr. scored his first career Cup win at Dover in June and qualified for the Chase.

He ultimately finished 11th in the final standings but, on the strength of seven top five and 14 top ten finishes, established himself as one of the circuit's solid contenders for the future.

While Menard struggled to stay in the top 35 and Martin was hit and miss in his limited schedule after joining the team in mid-summer, neither could match the frustrations of Earnhardt Jr.

Junior failed to make the Chase for the second time in three years and was shut out of Victory Lane for the first time in his full-time Cup career.

He was hindered by mechanical problems including a seemingly endless string of engine failures that resulted in nine DNFs and a disappointing end to his DEI career.