It's been just over six weeks since Dale Earnhardt Inc., a company built on marketing, lost its most marketable product. Since then, the founder's namesake has signed a five-year contract with the sport's hottest competitor and has sponsors tripping over themselves to throw money at him, the team he's going to drive for and the team he owns. In short, there isn't anybody out there who doesn't want a piece of the Dale Earnhardt Jr. pie and they'll take any piece they can get.
The same cannot be said for DEI.
#8 Budweiser Chevrolet Team
In Play: The number, the driver and the sponsor. After their star player announced he wouldn't return next season, the question of their largest sponsor's loyalty came into question. Budweiser would be hard pressed to get the same return on investment with another driver in the #8. Few arguments could be made--I won't bother.
