Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Employee Baffled by JRM Boss’ Defiance to Exploit “Deep Pockets” Amidst Tony Stewart’s Charter Sale

A massive upheaval is underway in the NASCAR Cup garage. With Stewart-Haas Racing out of the racing scene soon, its drivers are now in the market as free agents. Front Row Motorsports has already seized one charter. Now other teams are speculating whether to expand or not. But Dale Earnhardt Jr’s team recently backed out.

In recent years, charter sale prices have shot up to astronomical prices. After hanging around single-digit millions a few years ago, charters have reached the 40 Million threshold. But Dale Jr’s employee believes his team can benefit from its influential drivers.

Dale Earnhardt Jr could tap into his pupils

JR Motorsports fields two extremely talented drivers in the NASCAR Xfinity Series – Sammy Smith and Sam Mayer. The latter made jaws drop recently at Iowa Speedway, edging SHR’s Riley Herbst for a close-margin victory. That marked his sixth career victory in a rapid trend he began last year in July. Sammy Smith is no less spectacular, owning three top-fives and six top-tens this season.

Besides sheer talent, both drivers hold immense influence in motorsports. Sam Mayer hails from a racing family and his father Scott raced Indy cars. Sammy Smith has solid connections to help him – Xfinity veteran Michael Annett mentored Smith during his formative years. Hence ‘Door Bumper Clear’ host, Brett Griffin, pointed out the untapped potential that Dale Earnhardt Jr might miss out on. 

Griffin indicated that his employer could make good use of his drivers to attain an SHR charter. “I don’t understand the JRM approach to the charter…You have a Sam Mayer and you have a Sammy Smith. Both are assumed to have very deep pockets.” He added, “Why don’t you go to one of those two because they’re both really rich.”

The DBC host added that as a primary sponsor is needed, Dale Earnhardt Jr could follow in his father’s footsteps. “When you look at Dale Earnhardt, DEI, when they started the team with Michael Waltrip, they went to NAPA and said, ‘Hey, we need you to leave Ron Hornaday in Truck and we need you to come with us to Michael Waltrip in Cup.’ They said yes.” DEI and NAPA’s partnership began in 1996 and persisted for years even after Dale Earnhardt’s tragic passing.

However, Dale Earnhardt Jr may have good reason not to exude the killer confidence that the Intimidator possessed.

Dale Jr put forward a strong reason

Even though Brett Griffin is hounding his employer to fetch an SHR charter, Dale Earnhardt Jr knows what he is doing. He revealed to Bob Pockrass recently that the personal monetary investment would be excessive. And when the charter prices were low, Dale Jr gave the same reason. So he believes “that ship has sailed.” However, another stronger, more personal reason motivates Dale Jr in his approach – family.

Dale Earnhardt Jr is a father to two lovely daughters – Isla and Nicole. With Amy Reimann, the quartet makes an adorable family which Dale Jr wants to invest in. So his verdict is clear: “Personally, I would rather do something else with that money for the benefit of my girls…I’m not buying a charter and putting millions of dollars away into something that I can’t then recoup or sell for a profit…So I can do that with other investments or whatever for my girls.”

Hence Dale Earnhardt Jr has pretty valid reasons to stay away from Tony Stewart’s stable. But hopefully, his talented drivers in Xfinity will jump to the Cup Series soon.