Analysis: where next for Dale Jr

It has been clear for some time that the relationship between Dale Jr and step-mother Teresa, who controls DEI, is a very stressed one. Last year, Teresa went on the record criticising Dale Jr, putting his commitment to racing in doubt.

"I figured if anything needed to be said, she'd call me up and say it. But you know, my and her relationship definitely factor into my decision to drive there," responded Earnhardt Jr in January in a press conference while testing for the Daytona 500.

In the end, team ownership was put forward as the main cause for the negotiations break-down between the driver and team, after being in "intense" talks over a contract renewal for more than a year.

Clearly DEI will lose a valuable asset at then end of this year, as Dale Jr is by far the most popular driver currently in NASCAR. He will have no shortage of good offers, too, and speaking in his news conference today he has already narrowed the options.

"I enjoy driving Chevrolets and our relationship is very strong, and I think I will be best suited driving a Chevrolet," said Earnhardt Jr, leaving three teams as the probable options for him in 2008.

Richard Childress Racing - one of the top Chevy teams - have been said to be his natural choice, as it was the team his father raced with for most of his career, together achieving six Cup titles. Should Dale Jr choose to go to RCR, it would make for a very popular choice with his fans.

"There's a lot of logical scenarios that people are going to put together," Earnhardt Jr said after announcing his departure from DEI. "We've seen a lot of scenarios over the last couple days that were amusing, some bright and some not so bright.

"I have a great relationship with Richard [Childress] and I feel like on his behalf he's stepped his programs up."

RCR remain one of the top teams in NASCAR to date, and have their three current drivers in the top ten in the Nextel Cup points standings.

Childress could run one more team, but it remains to be seen whether Dale Jr would be willing to revive the Earnhardt-Childress bond and everything that comes with it.

Hendrick Motorsports would be another obvious option, as they are arguably the best team of the last decade. Currently Hendrick field four teams - one of them for Casey Mears, who could be seen as the most likely to make room for Dale Jr if he was to agree to race for Hendrick.

Hendrick could even field a fifth team, but they would do so only until 2009, due to NASCAR's new  regulation limit of four, which comes into force from 2010.

Budweiser, current sponsor of DEI's No. 8 car, would probably love such an idea and most likely follow Dale Jr out of the door at the end of the year. In fact, the beer company is expected to go wherever Dale Jr decides to go in 2008.

Joe Gibbs Racing would be among the other top options for Dale Jr. They currently field three teams for Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin and JJ Yeley, and adding the Earnhardt name could prove the ultimate boost for them.

Ginn Racing, another Chevrolet team that runs Hendrick engines, could also be seen as an outside option, the team having enough money to afford a driver of Dale Jr's calibre.

Mark Martin showed that Ginn Racing can do the job, after leading the points in the early part of the season, coming close to winning the Daytona 500.

It has been suggested that Earnhardt could run Hendrick cars under his own Team JR Motorsports, but it seems an unlikely option as the Busch squad currently employs only 70 people, and Dale Jr has said he doesn't want the operation to grow more than that for now.

Whatever decision Earnhardt Jr and his manager and sister Kelley take about 2008 and beyond, it may prove to be a crucial one for his Nextel Cup championship aspirations, as Dale Jr reckons himself.

"At 32 years of age," Earnhardt said, "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."